Disclaimer:Saiyuki characters are the property of
Minekura Kazuya.I make no profit from
this story.
Summary:A hangman's noose looms before
Symon de Wallingford as he's caught in a web of murder, politics and the fate
of a mysterious escaped slave with golden eyes. (About 25,000 words)

Warnings:Allusions to
past abuse; some violence; quite a bit of swearing; explicit sex.Secondary character death

A/N:
Written for Pixie Blade for the 2009 7thNight Smut exchange.Many thanks to the amazing Karuune, who
beta'ed this fic.I was the last to
touch it, however, so any mistakes remaining are mine.Website:http://samsarapine.livejournal.com

Email: samsarapine [at] yahoo [dot] com

This
story is loosely based on events that took place in Oxford, c.1209 (which,
not-so-coincidentally, are related to CambridgeUniversity's 800th
anniversary this year).I modernised the
dialogue, with glaring anachronisms eliminated where noticed.

Characters:

Sanzo = Symon, Lord of Wallingford

Hakkai = Hereward, nicknamed
'Hawk' or 'Hawk Eye'

Goku = Guy

Gojyo = Gervase

Nii = Nicholaus

Kougaiji = Lord Konstantine

Dokugakuji = Dyonisius,
nicknamed 'Denys'

Gyumaoh = Girardus, Earl of
Richemon

Gyukumen = Sibyl

Jeep = Chienblanc,
nicknamed 'Chien'

Zakuro = Spyrling

Ha'Penny Slave

Part One:Of A Voice in the Darkness

Though
nights were beginning to get cooler, the day had been warm and lovely, the
golden-red sunset was striking and their meal had been fit for a duke, complete
with dried figs, honey and pungent French cheese for afters.Hawk breathed deeply.Putting aside the earlier trials of his life,
at the moment it was good to be nineteen, of sufficient means to eat well, of
sufficient wit to argue with the good probability of winning and of sufficient
luck to obtain all that he needed with a minimum of effort.

Hearing
a small commotion, he caught hold of his companion's arm and held him in place
as a pig galloped across their path, followed closely by a band of small
children waving sticks and shrieking in shrill voices.

"Tch."Symon de Wallingford brushed at his
cream-coloured schert.

"Children
have such high spirits," Hawk said admiringly."If you'd put half that energy into your
studies—"

"—You'd
be paying me for lessons," Symon finished."Instead we end up giving my good
pennies to idiots who don't have the fucking intelligence to copy manuscripts
for a living."

"Ah
haha.Yes, that's so," said Hawk,
unflustered."But I thought that
John of Aberdeen's lecture about applying Aristotelian ethics to the Church's
teachings on the philosophy of spiritual guidance was quite interesting."

"Bullshit,"
Symon said."William of Auvergne
clearly demonstrates that Aristotle's work on ethics is in direct conflict with
faith and is therefore false."

A
woman hurrying by with a basket of laundry gave them a dirty look.Hawk smiled at her and nodded, then turned
back to Symon.

"But
what if the Church would shift its focus from teaching people that Heaven is a
reward for pious behaviour as ascertained by the Pope to a philosophy that
every man is responsible for his own actions, and therefore his own entrance
into Heaven?"

"If
the Church did that, society would degenerate into chaos.The masses aren't interested in doing good,
they're interested in getting ahead.People like that bastard Nicholaus would be more than happy to exploit
that kind of greed."

"Nicholaus's
a student of Divinity—"

"He's
dangerous.I don't trust him or his
ideas.Arguing that the universe is a
void that consists of nothing but random acts of predation may be true, but
it's shit as scholarship."

"I'm
sure that if he'd been at tonight's dinner—"

"—Out
fucking someone, I'll bet—"

Hawk
smiled amiably, "—He would have pointed out that the pig that just crossed
our path—Oh!"He stumbled into
Symon, who had halted abruptly.

"Did
you hear that?"

"Hear
what?"Hawk peered into the alley,
where darkness was quickly growing as the sun slipped further below the
horizon."Another pig,
perhaps?"He glanced around, but
the street was empty.

"There
it is again!"Showing no care for
the clothes he'd been so concerned about earlier, Symon plunged into the dark
alley.

Without
hesitation, Hawk plunged in after him.

The
alley smelled of waste and corruption, ominous rustling sounds indicating that
rats had already begun their nightly foraging.The second and third stories of the surrounding houses loomed overhead,
their outsized upper floors nearly meeting as the owners exploited every bit of
available space.They created an
artificial midnight that made the flesh on Hawk's neck prick
with foreboding.

As
they went deeper into the alley, Hawk put a hand to his knife.Whatever was back there was likely either
prey or hunter, and either could be dangerous if cornered.He began to wish that he had Gervase with
him, or at least Gervase's sword, even if he still couldn't wield it as proficiently
as an ex-soldier like Gervase could.

Symon
disappeared ahead of him.

Hawk
swore under his breath.He didn't dare
call out.Even if there were no thieves
or assailants in the alley, tensions had been running high in Oxford, and he
didn't fancy the thought of two students being caught in a dark alley by some
drunken sot of a townie and his friends, and only his knife and Symon's as
defence.

After
stumbling over something that smelled disgusting and – judging by the wet spot
he felt – had transferred part of its wealth of grime to his schert, Hawk
paused.

The
darkness was nearly complete, though his eyes had adjusted enough to allow him
to see vague shapes in front of him.Moving more cautiously, he continued further down the alley.

"Stop,
or you'll step on me," a voice said just to his right.

"Symon."Hawk couldn't keep the relief out of his
voice.

"It's
a kid.He was conscious when I first got
here, but he's passed out now."Symon cursed.

"Hey!You!You in the alley!Stan' up so's I
c'n see you!"

Hawk
swore under his breath."I'll take
care of this," he whispered.He
stood and held up his hands.

"Ah
haha!Sorry," Hawk called
cheerfully."Too much wine with
supper, I'm afraid!"He carefully
placed himself between Symon and the small crowd of men carrying torches who
had already made their way halfway down the alley, hoping to block Symon and
the child from view."As my
childhood priest always said, a full bladder is a gift from God."

"No
blood on 'im.Well then, piss an' be
done with it.Damned students," the
man grumbled."Here, you!" he
added."If you see a slave, young,
with light brown eyes and hair, hold 'im an' report to a constable right sharp-like."

"We'll
be sure to do so!" Hawk promised."May I enquire as to the nature of the crime that the slave has
committed?"

"Murder,"
the man replied with relish."The
lady of Richemon, an' our own mayor's sister, she was.That little bastard'll hang an' kick for
sure, once we gets hold of 'im."

Hawk's
blood ran cold, and he barely kept himself from glancing over his shoulder to
make sure that Symon's throat hadn't been slashed while his back was
turned."We'll be careful!"

"Aye.Do that then."The men hurried off, the alley darker than
ever before with the light from the torches withdrawn.

"Did
you hear?" Hawk turned, keeping his voice low so that it wouldn't
carry."Murder!Up at the castle!"

"This
kid couldn't pinch a flea in his condition, let alone commit murder."
Symon's voice drifted out of the darkness."He's been beaten within an inch of his life.And he's naked."He stood, a ghostly figure with his long
blond hair, dressed only in his linen undertunic, his cream schert draped over
the boy's semi-conscious form."Here, help me get him to the house."

Biting
back his concern, Hawk waited for Symon to lift the boy's body and then he
slipped under the child's other shoulder.Together, they cautiously carried him to the street.

They
kept to the shadows the entire way home, crouching in dark alleys whenever a
group of men bearing torches passed by.The townspeople were out in force, obviously hunting for the man who had
murdered Lady Richemon.Hawk breathed a
silent sigh of relief when they rounded a corner and he saw the familiar
half-timbered bulk of his house looming over the dark street.

"Gervase
must still be at the tavern," Hawk said as they slipped inside and were
met with a banked fire and darkness.He
heard a soft whine and felt a cold nose press against his hand."It's just us, Chien.Good dog.Symon, can you hold the boy while I light some candles?"

"Put
the fenestrals over the windows while you're at it," Symon said, shifting
to support the boy's weight as Hawk gently released him."I don't want anyone catching a glimpse
of him."

"Aye,
aye," Hawk said.He lit a candle
and hurriedly fit linen-covered lattices into the open windows, locking them in
place before lighting several more candles."I'll stir up the fire and get some water heating."

Symon
grunted and carefully lowered the boy to the hard-packed dirt floor.Chien sniffed at the boy and then curled up
beside him, watching.

"The
dog seems to be okay with him.Bolt the
door while you're at it.We don't need
that drunken mercenary of a houseman of yours stumbling in and falling on top
of the kid."

"Gervase
isn't a mercenary, he's an ex-Crusader.He can be trusted."

"But
I doubt that ex-soldier drinking buddy of his can be."

"Denys
is a honourable man, and loyal—Oh," Hawk said."I can't believe I didn't make the
connection."

"Exactly.He's loyal to the son whose mother was just
murdered."Symon took the basin of
cold water that Hawk gave him, and then watched as Hawk pushed a pail of water
close to the revived coals of the fire to heat.He ripped the bottom of his undertunic before Hawk could find him a rag
and began to bathe the boy."Damn.Look at this."

Hawk
examined the boy.He was naked but for a
fine chain around his neck, hung with what looked like some kind of small
coin.Welts overlapped in perfectly
straight horizontal stripes down the boy's back, stretching from his shoulders
all the way down the back of his thighs, vicious belt marks punctuated by
buckle scrapes."Good God.It's… obscene."

"Whoever
did this wasn't doing it in a fit of rage," Symon said grimly."Too systematic, too straight.This was torture.Look," he pointed."He was tied up.See those marks on his wrists?"

"Symon,
he's not a child," Hawk said, gesturing to the man's shadowed groin."I'll make poultices for the
wounds."He left the clearly
disconcerted Symon bathing the man.

Not
that he could blame Symon's mistake.The
man looked to be barely older than boyhood, slight and wiry, with pale, pale
skin and brown hair shorn short to mark him as a slave, hairless elsewhere
except for the patches under his arms and at his groin; even his face was free
of the heavy beards worn by most slaves.Hawk guessed that he was probably around fourteen years old, more than
old enough to have been bought and sold several times already in his young
life, and not much younger than he, Symon and Gervase.He admitted to himself that he was relieved
that Chien had accepted the stranger so easily; the dog had an uncanny knack
for sensing danger, which had helped Hawk on numerous occasions.

Symon
looked up as Hawk knelt next to him with the poultices."I've got him clean.Help me move him to the hutch before we put
those on him, will you?"

"You'd
better strip out of your clothes, first.They're bloody," Hawk replied. He took Symon's undertunic as he
pulled it off over his head, then gathered up the stained schert and laid them
both on a stool next to the fire."I'll have Gervase take these to be laundered tomorrow.I'm sure he knows someone who will be
discreet."

Symon
grunted.Together, they moved the man
into Symon's bedroom, laying him on the pallet that topped Symon's storage
hutch at the foot of his bed.Hawk
fetched blankets while Symon applied the poultices to the man's back, and then
he held a lantern while Symon searched for any other wounds that he may have
missed.

"It
looks like you've taken care of his injuries," Hawk said."I think that he—"

Hawk
went to the door and opened it.A tall,
dark-haired man with a scar that crossed one eye and continued down his cheek,
wearing a neatly trimmed beard and moustaches stood outside, supporting an
equally tall, but slighter, clean-shaven man with flowing red hair.

"Thank
you, Denys," Hawk said, dismayed."What happened?"

"Sorry,"
Denys said, Gervase's long body hanging from one broad shoulder."I've got to get back to the
castle.Lord Konstantine needs me.The whole town's up in arms about Lady
Richemon's murder, and it's taken me forever to lug this bastard's drunken arse
home."He dragged Gervase into the
house."Should I take him to his
room?"

"Hey,
Hawk!" Gervase slurred happily."I'm home!"

"Yes,
you are."Hawk nodded at
Denys."I heard about the
murder.You need to get back.Let me take him.I can get Symon's help if I need
it."He slipped under Gervase's
arm.Denys carefully let go, and Hawk
sagged as Gervase's full weight came to rest on his shoulder.

"Fuckin'
golden-haired prick," Gervase said."Don't like 'im.Like you,
though," he said to Hawk with a sweet smile on his face.

Hawk
couldn't help but smile back as he hitched Gervase into a more comfortable
position, one arm around his waist."I like you, too, Gervase.Now let me put you to bed.Thank
you," he said, turning to Denys.

Denys
went red."Shut the fuck up, you
half-witted half-breed," he muttered.

"Heh,
heh.Constantin—oh, fuck.That place.'Soldiers, crusaders, a rich sweet-arsed city; We stuck our cocks in and
squeezed gold from her titty'," warbled Gervase."We met in Venice, you know!" he said
in a loud voice, gesturing towards Denys."Pope made all the crusaders start from there.Took care of me like a brother.Would have had twenty cocks shoved up my arse
without him.I was jus' a stupid
kid—"

"Gervase,
be quiet!" Hawk said, trying to drag him away as Gervase tried to stumble
back towards Denys."You're
drunk."

"Yup,"
Gervase confirmed."I was twelve
fuckin' years old an' a soldier."He
hiccupped and belched, giving Hawk an opportunity to turn him back towards the
stairs.Hawk glanced over his shoulder,
hoping that Denys would let himself out, and caught his breath.

Denys
was staring at Symon's blood soaked clothing, still lying on the stool where
Hawk had laid it.Hawk dumped Gervase
next to the fire, where he lolled with a smile on his face.

Denys
was frowning in thought, and Hawk didn't want him thinking.He walked over to the stool and looked down,
too."A mess, isn't it?" he
said, forcing his voice to sound rueful."Some fool decided to butcher a pig as we were walking home, and
the bloody thing got away from him and ran straight into Symon.He was furious.He's washing up now."

"Sorry
to hear that," Denys said slowly."I'm surprised you didn't get bloody as well."

"Ah
haha!I'm simply much better at
dodging," Hawk replied."Symon
tends to be the 'yield to no man' type.Or pig, for that matter," he added with a smile.Time to change the subject."Thanks so much for bringing Gervase
home.What set it off tonight?"

Denys
started, then turned to Hawk and shrugged."Said he saw a woman who reminded him of his mum," he
said."I got the feeling that the
two of you may have quarrelled," he added.

Hawk
sighed."He tried to talk me into
leaving Oxford.He's worried about how angry the townsfolk have been about student
privilege lately."

"He's
right.It's dangerous right now.And it'll be worse after tonight, mark my
words.The murderer was seen headed in
this direction."Denys crossed to
the door."People seem to think
he's someone with the university.Lock
up after me."He left.

"Bloody
hell," Hawk muttered as he bolted the door.Behind him, Gervase muttered something and
began to snore.Hawk turned and regarded
Gervase for a moment before picking him up and manoeuvring him so that he was
sprawled across the top of the table, his long red hair glowing softly in the
candlelight."Sleep there tonight,
you bloody great arse," Hawk murmured."At least you're off the cold dirt."He draped a cloth over Gervase and headed
back to Symon's room, pausing to blow out the candles and pick up the bucket of
warmed water from the fire.

"I've
bed him down on the table," he whispered quietly to the closed bed
curtains."The door is bolted.Here's the water.The fire should be good for the night.Do you need any more help?"

"No."

"Right,
then."Hawk paused."Symon, are you sure—?"

"I'm
sure.Now get your bloody arse to
bed.We'll talk in the morning."

"All
right."Hawk reluctantly turned
away and went to his own room.

For
all of Symon's confidence, Hawk wasn't so sure that taking the slave in had been
the right idea.Who was to say that he
hadn't received his injuries after having been caught with the dead body, and
had escaped after that?The little
information that they had didn't preclude that from being the case.What would keep the slave from murdering them
all in their sleep?

Still,
Chien had immediately accepted the man.The white greyhound was extremely intelligent; there were times when
Hawk felt like Chien and he communicated as well between beast and man as many
men communicated between themselves.

In
which case, how long could they hide a man wanted for murder?

Chien
came into his room and jumped up on the bed, crossing to his normal sleeping
place at the foot and curling up into a ball.As Hawk slowly undressed and neatly folded his clothing, he began to
make a mental list of issues that he needed to bring to Symon's attention in
the morning.

Chien
gave a great, doggy sigh, breaking Hawk's train of thought.He glanced over at the dog, which looked at
him with serious eyes.

"All
right.I trust your judgement,"
Hawk said.He put aside his soiled
schert to add to the pile of laundry and slipped into his bed, pulling the bed
curtains shut behind him."And
Symon's, too, of course," he added, though not as certainly."Wake me if anything should go
wrong."He stroked the dog's head
then laid back.

He
fell asleep as soon as his cheek hit the pillow.

Part Two:Of Dreams and Decisions

Symon
listened as Hawk retired to his room.When all seemed silent, he opened the bed curtains and moved a chair so
he could sit next to the boy, who seemed to be sleeping naturally, mumbling to
himself occasionally.Symon sighed.With his luck, the brat would snore, too.

Hawk
was right to be cautious.But there was
something about this boy – not an adult, for all of the hair on his body – that
spoke to Symon, almost as if the boy's soul were talking to him.He wasn't sure if he was being bewitched or
not, but it didn't matter.He trusted
himself and his own instincts before he trusted the teachings of the Church,
and every instinct in his soul told him that this boy needed him.

But
now that they were here, now that the boy was lying on his hutch, swaddled in
his blankets, hidden under his roof, he was having second thoughts.Not like Hawk's – Symon was certain the boy
wasn't a murderer – but about the implications of his own actions.

He'd
assumed responsibility for someone else.Something that he'd sworn never to do.

The
closest he'd ever come was when he'd first met Hawk and the man had looked up
at him, hands red with blood and eyes knowing full well what he'd done and
waiting for punishment, and Symon had looked on a dead man's face and had seen
the monster inside.But that was
different.Hawk hadn't called to him, or
asked for help.He'd accepted
responsibility, so Symon had given him his freedom, believing that Hawk would
punish himself more thoroughly and to better consequence than the Church or
Symon's father would have.And he'd been
proven correct.The man was a brilliant
scholar, eager to learn law and participate in the new reforms that had begun
to surface, arguing passionately for participatory government structures
independent of King John or the Church.

But
this boy was a slave.Symon couldn't
simply set him free and say, 'go live your life.'The boy would either be hanged for being a
runaway or immediately exploited in even worse ways, by men who would know that
they held the his life in their hands, and that no man would raise an eyebrow
at their treatment of him.

Symon
cursed.Really, all he'd wanted to do
when he'd heard the voice was to tell it to shut up and leave him alone.Fuck, he was a fool.He frowned at the boy.

The
brat looked like an idiot, staring at him like that.And his eyes… the colour…Ignoring a strange feeling of familiarity,
Symon spoke."Oi.What the fuck happened to you?"

The
boy stared, honey-gold eyes disconcertingly bright."It's like the sun," he whispered.

Then
he seized Symon's hair and yanked.

"OW!"Symon slapped the kid's hand away and glared,
though he remembered to drop his voice again so as not to wake up Hawk."What the fuck are you doing?"

"I
wanted to see if it was hot," the brat said indignantly, though he kept
his voice lowered, too."An' it's
not."He frowned ferociously, as if
it were Symon's fault or something.

"Of
course it's not hot, you stupid monkey," Symon said."It's hair."

"Oh."The boy blinked a couple of times."I've never seen hair that colour
before."

"Well,
now you have.And if you ever pull it
again, I'll kill you."

The
brat shrugged."I'm not the one
with funny-coloured hair."He
squirmed a bit.

"Stop
fidgeting."

"It
itches!"

"It
itches because I've put poultices on your wounds.Though I could have sworn you were nearly
dead before," Symon added to himself.Perhaps the wounds and trauma weren't so bad as he'd thought.

The
kid went still and looked around, fear in his eyes for the first time."Is he here?"

"Who?"

"Crow."

God
grant him patience."Is he man who
beat you?Is he your master?"

The
eyes were confused."Master?No, he's the man who found me."

"Did
you run away?"

"I
don't know."

"What
do you mean, you don't know?Look, I'm
not going to turn you in, but I need to know so that I can figure out what the
hell to do with you.Did you run away
from your master?"

"I
don't know.I don't remember anythin' before
he found me."

The
brat was clearly a moron."Tell me
what you do remember, then."

The
kid scrunched up his face."Well,
it was cold an' dark and smelled really funny.There wasn't any light until he came in.He saw me an' started laughin' an' asked if I
was a devil an' I told 'im that I didn't know, but I didn't think so.So he told me to come with 'im and I've been
with 'im ever since."He chewed on
his lower lip."Oh," he added,
brightening."I remember something
else, too.My name."He grinned, cocky and proud.

The
kid was either lying or some accident or trauma had taken his memory in the
past.Somehow, Symon was more inclined
to think the latter.The boy's eyes were
too clear.

"So?What is it?"

"I'm
Guy."

Symon
grunted."Funny name."

"Well,
what's yours, then?" Guy asked, belligerent.

"Symon."

"Heh,
heh.Sounds like 'pieman'."

"Shut
up."

Guy
shrugged.A worried look crossed his
face."Hey, are you gonna take me
back t'him?"

Symon
shook his head."I already told you
I wouldn't.Do you have family
anywhere?"

"Yes.Get up."Guy slid onto the bed and Symon opened the hutch and took out two
nightshirts."Here, put this
on," he said, tossing one to Guy.

The
boy slipped it over his head."Thanks."

Symon
started to undress."You can sleep
on the hutch tonight.We'll figure out
what to do with you in the morning."

"'Kay."Guy climbed back onto the hutch and watched
Symon for a moment, then got down."I c'n help."

Before
Symon could push him away, Guy had taken off his shoes and was tugging at his
hose."D'you wash before you go to
bed?" he asked.

"Usually.Are you trained as a man servant?"

Guy
shrugged again."Crow told me what
to do."Symon stepped out of his
braies when Guy pulled them down and watched as Guy took up soap and a cloth
that was hanging over the pail of cooling water."It's hard," Guy said, examining
the soap."I never saw hard soap
before.This smells nice."

"Then
how do you know what it is?" Symon said.He didn't resist as Guy took one of his arms and began to wash him.

"It
smells like soap. Nice soap."

Guy
washed Symon efficiently.The whole
situation seemed unreal to Symon.This
boy, nearly dead of a severe beating just an hour before, chattering away and
washing Symon's nude body as if he were healthy and whole and had been serving
Symon all of his life.Before he knew
it, Guy was gently drying his body and had slipped the second nightshirt over
Symon's head.

His
grin was blinding in the dim light."Good, huh?"

And
then he reached under the nightshirt, grabbed Symon's prick and started rubbing
it.

Symon
froze, shocked.Guy's hand was warm and
definitely arousing; he could feel his prick hardening under the boy's
strokes."What are you doing?"

"Makin'
you feel good."

Good
fucking God, that was an understatement.Guy's grip was firm and practiced, and felt so good…Symon knocked Guy's hand away.

"Stop
it.Where did you learn that?"

"Crow
liked me to do it.He said if you feel
good, you sleep better at night.I
didn't like doing it for him, but I don't mind doing it for you."He reached for Symon's prick again, but Symon
pushed him away.

"I
sleep fine," he said, frowning.

Guy
frowned back."Don't blame me if
you don't."He crawled back on top
of the hutch and burrowed into the blankets, turning his back on Symon.

Cursing
to himself, Symon slipped into his bed and pulled the bed curtains shut.Inside them, he was intimately aware of Guy's
presence at the foot of the bed, both of them enclosed together in the same
space.

When
he'd been young, he'd always shared his bed with his tutor or one of the male
servants in the winter, never thinking about it.He remembered the stories that some of his
bedmates had told him about having sex, but they'd stopped when Symon told them
to shut up.

Sex
with anyone was more than distasteful, it was disgusting.Why would anyone ever want to rut with
someone else, covered in sweat and other disgusting fluids, when one could
achieve the same effect quietly and cleanly on one's own?

He
hadn't brought any servants with him when he'd come to university, so it had
been ages since he'd shared his sleeping space with anyone.When it was cold at night, he'd used a heated
stone to warm the bed, and it had worked just fine.Hawk had taught him that trick.

He
blinked in the darkness, a sudden thought occurring to him.Gervase often slept in Hawk's bed, even
though Hawk knew about the heated rock.Did they have sex?

He
cursed again and pulled his blankets over his head.The whole fucking world was mad for sex.Fuck 'em all.Beds were for sleep.

Eventually,
he did so.

She
was dressed in blue and white, the colours of innocence and chastity.But the blue hid only her hair and the white
hid only her lower face and her creamy skin hid nothing.

"Symon."

"Yes."Sex was everywhere, in her eyes, in her
voice, in her heavy breasts with their red-tipped nipples, in the aroused prick
she sported between her legs.

"The
boy is yours."

"I
don't want him."

"Tough.He's yours.Remember, never remove the necklace."

"Who
are you?" Symon demanded.

"Would
you believe I'm the Virgin Mary?"

He
rolled his eyes.

"I
am virgin, and I am mother, and I am father and sister and brother to
all."He couldn't see her mouth,
but he could hear her smile."The
boy is yours.Don't remove the
necklace."

"What
the fuck, you crazy—"But she was
gone, and Guy's hands felt warm on his prick and Symon rolled his hips a bit
and no, he wasn't flaccid, he was rigid and ready to spill…

Symon
shuddered awake, coming hard, prick twitching and his breath harsh and
ragged.He moaned into his pillow,
biting down to silence any other sounds he might utter.Gradually, he became aware of an incredible
furnace of heat wrapped around him, a band of which surrounded his prick.He felt a nose nuzzle into the nape of his
neck.

He
was nearly deafened by a loud rasping noise right next to his ear.Dammit.He'd been right.The fucking brat
snored.

Cursing
and burying his head in his pillow, Symon ignored Guy's wandering hands.

Fucking
sex.It left a wet spot.

He
fell asleep again almost immediately.

Part Three:Of Gypsies, Demons and Murderers

Hawk
moved the polished silver platter that he'd propped on the table and frowned
into it before picking up his knife again.

"I
can shave you, you know."

"With
the way your hands are shaking this morning?" Hawk answered
sceptically.He carefully pulled the
knife's sharp edge down his cheek and then rinsed it.

"Useless
piece of shit would be more appropriate."Symon poured a mug of ale and sat."And his name's not Hawk.It's Hereward, idiot."

"Ah
haha!Symon is right, my name is
Hereward, but you can call me Hawk if you like," Hawk said, smiling at
Guy.

"I'm
Guy.Why do you call him Hawk if his
name is Hereward?"

"Y'know
how a hawk sometimes stares at a rabbit?An' how the rabbit can't move an' then it falls over dead?"

Guy
nodded, and Hawk punched Gervase.

"I
do NOT kill people with a look," he retorted.

Gervase
winked broadly at Guy and tapped the side of his nose."Just don't get 'im mad at you."

Guy
grinned back."Right."

Chien
snuffled at Guy's hands.

"Oh,
an' that's Chienblanc.'Chien', for
short."

"He's
pretty."Guy's eyes glowed.

Hawk
couldn't help drawing in his breath.Golden eyes.He'd never seen such
a thing before.He glanced at Symon, who
shook his head slightly.

So.Symon had noticed, too.

The
boy had the eyes of a demon.

Not
that he could say anything, Hawk admitted to himself.His eyes might be green, but the devil looked
through them just the same.He dropped
his knife and looked down at his hands.

"Let
me," a voice behind him said, and Gervase's big hand cupped his chin.Hawk looked up at him for a moment and then
closed his eyes.He relaxed with a sigh
as Gervase picked up his knife and carefully finished shaving him.

"Thank
you."Hawk put away the silver
platter and sat next to Gervase, taking the bowl of pottage that he
offered.He wasn't hungry, but he knew
Gervase worried when he didn't eat.

"It's
Romani.The kid was with gypsies, at
least for a while," Gervase said."Gypsies practice magic, you know," he added, meeting Hawk's
gaze and gesturing towards Guy with his head."Anyway, it's just a greeting.I said, 'go with God and in good health,' an' he answered."

Symon
grunted."And how do you know so
much about gypsies?"

"One
of the soldiers with Denys and me was Romani," Gervase said."Since pretty much everyone shunned him
and me except for Denys, we watched each other's backs."

"Why
would people stay away from you?" Guy asked.

"Because
I'm a half-blood," Gervase said."Half French, half English.Not too popular right now, considerin' the wars an' all.But Romanis get it bad all the time."

Hawk
unobtrusively motioned Symon and Gervase closer; they leaned towards him."So Guy heals quickly and has lived with
or at least been exposed to gypsies at some point in his life," Hawk said,
keeping his voice low and watching Guy eat."He wears a necklace with a strange coin that he must never take
off.He had a master who was unusually
cruel.Did he tell you anything else,
Symon?"

Symon
shook his head."Just that the man
who beat him found him in some dark, smelly place and asked if he was the
devil."

Hawk
raised an eyebrow."And what was
his response?"

"That
he didn't think so."

"That's
reassuring," Hawk said, but his sarcasm was half-hearted."I know that it's not rational of me,
but I can't find it in me to believe he's the one they're looking for.
Although, that's not to say that I don't think that he's dangerous," he
added, mainly to himself.

"It's
not your problem," Symon said abruptly."I brought him here.I'll
take him somewhere else."

"Where?The whole town is looking for him."

Symon
glared at Gervase, but was interrupted as Guy held out his trencher."C'n I have some more?"

"Where
is all that food goin'?"Gervase
frowned and pushed Symon's untouched bowl over to Guy."You're too skinny for it to be goin'
into your stomach."

"I
get hungry," Guy said defensively."I've
never had this much before," he admitted a moment later."It's good."He started tearing his trencher into chunks
and dipping it into the pottage before stuffing it in his mouth.

"I'll
ask Thomas's old lady to double our meals," Gervase said.

"There's
extra money in the jar," Hawk said vaguely."Or in my purse, perhaps."

Gervase
sighed."You're hopeless.I'll dig some up somewhere.D'you have enough for yourself?"

"Tch.That idiot couldn't keep a penny if you glued
it to his forehead," Symon said."I've got money."

"Who's
everybody after?"

"The
kid's got good hearing, too," Gervase muttered."Shit."

"Someone
who murdered a lady," Symon said abruptly."They think it might have been you."

"We'd
need a carriage," Hawk said."Something enclosed so no one can see him.And it would be better to leave at
night."He looked apologetically at
Symon."I'm afraid that Guy will
need to be accompanied.Will you go or
shall I?"

"You
both should go."They turned to
look at Gervase."Look, I'm
serious.It's ugly out there.You haven't heard the talk.I can stay behind and watch the house, but
it's better for both of you to take a break from the university and head out of
town until things calm down."

"If
it's that dangerous, you should go, too," Hawk retorted."If you don't, I don't see why we
should.We can take care of
ourselves."

"Yeah,
well, the kid changes things," Gervase said, tilting his head towards Guy,
who was listening with wide eyes.

"I c'n take care of myself, too," Guy said."An' I'm not a kid."

"No.You're a bottomless pit," Gervase
said."Damn, you can eat."

Guy
curled protectively around his mostly empty bowl.

"We
need more information," Hawk repeated."It's foolish to take any action until we know what's actually
happening.I'm not about to interrupt my
studies for a few tensions that may blow over quickly once they find the real
murderer."

Dice
skittered across the table."Nah," Gervase said."How about knucklebones instead.I think I've got a Venus or two in me.Canis and Senios out."He
grinned and put his hands behind his head."Quarter-mark a point."

"Asshole."Symon scooped up the dice."You're on."

Part Four:Of Rumours and Homicidal Mobs

Symon
moved the candle closer to the manuscript and took up his quill.

One
of the many advantages to living with Hawk was the man's thirst for knowledge,
which he pursued with a single-minded passion that Symon grudgingly
admired.He wasn't sure where Hawk found
the money to buy all of the codices and manuscripts that littered the house,
but it was easily the best collection that Symon had seen outside of
Canterbury.Hawk seemed to use whatever
mysterious source of money he owned to bribe copyists to sell him complete
manuscripts instead of renting quartos like most of their fellow students.

Symon
thought it best not to learn too much about how Hawk accomplished that.

"I'm
hungry."Guy sat across from Symon
and leaned over the table."Really
hungry."

"Chew
on the table, then."The brat's
whinging was getting on Symon's nerves.

Guy
eyed the table."I don't think I
can eat it."

"Tch."

"Gervase
will be bringing something when he comes back from the tavern," Hawk said,
his cheerful voice as annoying as Guy's whine.

Symon
did his best to ignore them both, but Guy leaned closer.

"I'm
hun—Ow!"

"Ah
haha," Hawk said."Perhaps
that's not the best use of a manuscript, Symon."

"Because
you're annoying."Symon rubbed his
eyes, which ached after an evening of reading by candlelight."When's the damned mercenary getting
back?"

"He's
not a mercenary," Hawk started to reply, then he stopped and looked at the
door.Shouts were coming from the
street."Oh dear.It's rather loud out there, isn't
it?"He stood, leaving his own
books on the table.

The
idiot."Stop!"

Hawk
looked back over his shoulder, a hand on the latch."What?"

"It's
dangerous.Stay inside."

"But
Gervase's out there—"

"That
moron can take care of himself." Symon tilted his head at Guy."We've got him."

Hawk
turned to the door again, clearly torn.His hand dropped from the latch."Of course," he murmured, returning to the table.

Suddenly
the door burst open.Gervase slipped in,
slammed the door and barred it."The fucking town is full of assholes," he said."They're pissed, and they're going after
anyone they see from the university."

"Gervase!"

"Don't
worry, I'm fine," Gervase said, brushing away Hawk's hand."It's not blood.Well, not mine, anyway."It was only then that Symon noticed that
Gervase had a smear of blood down one side of his face."Asshole bled like a sonofabitch when I
punched him in the nose."

"Did
someone attack you?"

"No.I caught the bastard using loaded
dice."Gervase set a cloth-wrapped
bundle on the table and started scrubbing at his face with the sleeve of his
schert."That's when the prick
suddenly remembered that I live with a couple of university students, and he
started shouting.I hadda get out.Had a good streak goin', too," he said
with disgust."That's dinner.Thomas's old lady made extra."He turned to Symon and leered."Says she'll do anythin' to put meat on
your skinny bones."

"Was
this before or after you punched out someone in her tavern?" Symon asked,
disgusted.Guy was already tearing at
the wrappings, Chien waiting at his feet with an expectant look.

"Before,"
Gervase admitted."She likes me,
though.I'll talk her 'round in a few
days."He frowned."But honestly, it's not good out
there.On the way back I ran into a
couple of groups of pissed off drunks with clubs, lookin' for a student to
pound.The last group decided I was good
enough an' came after me."

Symon
glanced at the door."And you led
them straight here, I suppose."

"I
lost 'em a few streets away, you prick," Gervase said."Give me some credit."

"Tch."

"Stew!"Guy looked up eagerly."C'n I have some?"

Hawk
smiled."You can use my bowl.I'll use a trencher tonight."He turned to Symon and Gervase."Perhaps we can talk about this after
we've eaten.Guy has been quite
patient."

Symon
snorted.

"Fine.Eat first, homicidal mob after."Gervase swung his legs over the bench and
sat, pulling Hawk down next to him."Don't blame me if they burn the fucking house down around our
heads.An' no trenchers tonight, I
brought some white bread home.You an'
me can share a bowl.C'mon, get your
arse over here, Symon."

Silence
fell as the four men ate.

"Is
there a reason you're not eating any bread?" Symon asked after Guy had
helped himself a third time to the stew pot.

Though
he'd just taken an enormous bite, the boy's mouth automatically popped open to
speak, but he caught himself at Symon's glare.Swallowing, he said, "I'm not supposed to eat it."

"Oh,
and Guy?" Hawk said, standing and starting to clear up the dishes,
"please don't call Gervase 'Frenchie' where anyone else can hear you, all
right?"

"Please
don't call Gervase 'Frenchie' ever," Gervase said.He took Symon's bowl."Huh.Decided to eat tonight, did you?I swear you're like some kind of shitty monk or something, the way you
starve yourself."

"It
was great!" Guy said, eyeing the food being put away with longing.

"Leave
some for breakfast," Symon said.

"Hey,
Guy," Gervase said, a crafty glint in his eye."Wanna eat some really good
food?"

Symon
glanced sharply at him, but remained silent.

Guy's
face lit up."Yeah!"He looked around."Where is it?"

"You
have to travel a bit."Gervase sat
down at the table."But it's at
Symon's home.Right, Symon?"

Symon
thought of pheasant and fish and fresh fruits and vegetables and grunted.

"I
set it up before I went to the tavern.The carriage will be here tomorrow at sundown," Gervase said."No arguing this time.All three of you are going."He looked at Hawk, who looked back at him
with a pleasant expression but said nothing.

"Why?Just because a group of idiots chased you
with clubs?" Symon asked."They've gone after the university before and it blew over."

Hawk
nodded."This is a large town.There've been murders before now.Though no one as important as Lady
Richemon," he admitted.

Gervase
ran a hand through his hair and sighed."The murder just gave them the excuse that they've been looking
for.It's been building for a
while.Rumour has it that there's some
kind of plot by the scholars to annex land for the university, and it pisses
the townies off."

"Where's
the rumour coming from?"

Gervase
shrugged."Don't know.But they held a tribunal this afternoon and
found a student guilty of murdering Lady Richemon.Thing is, they don't know who.An' I don't think they're gonna be picky
about finding someone.There weren't any
lectures today.Everybody connected to
the university is keeping his head down."

"They
can't do anything," Hawk said."I've been reading my law manuscripts.If they want to take any action against a
member of the university, they have to have permission to do so from the
archbishop of each diocese.We happen to
be under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury."

That
was interesting."He's been set
aside by King John," Symon said.

"So
he has no authority," Hawk said with a smile."And therefore, he can't grant
permission for the town to take action against the university."

"That's
assumin' that the town is gonna wait for permission," Gervase said."I'm dead serious, here.There's a mob mentality out there.Someone is gonna be hanged."

"We
have until tomorrow night to decide," Hawk said."Let's see what happens."

"Damned
fool," Gervase muttered.He was
watching Hawk with a speculative look in his eyes.

Symon
shook his head; the idiot was probably busy thinking of ways to subdue Hawk and
put him in the carriage whether he wanted to go or not.He doesn't have a chance in hell.He poured more ale.

"Give
me some, too?"Gervase held out his
mug, but Symon just shoved the pitcher at him.Gervase made a rude gesture."Thanks, asshole.Hey, I
picked up some good gossip," he said, his voice suddenly brighter.

"It's
not nice to gossip," Hawk said.He
sat next to Gervase, looking expectant.Gervase poured ale into another mug and passed it to Hawk.

Gervase
shook his head."That's the first
thing I thought, too.But he was
negotiating with the Millers' Guild all day.Never left the meeting."

"In
other words, he was out drinking with his brother-in-law," Symon said in
disgust.

"Yeah,
he was pretty out of it last night," Gervase said."Thomas said there was a huge uproar at
the castle when they couldn't find him.His son had a hell of a time keeping the servants from panicking and
running off, jabbering something about an assassin or something."

"Richemon's
not important enough to be assassinated," Symon said."He's an asshole."

"He's
also quite a rich man," Hawk said."No pun intended, of course."

"Well,
if this is all you have to tell us, I'm heading for bed."Symon stood."C'mon, brat."

Guy
had slipped off the bench to sit next to the fire while the others had been
talking.Chien was half-draped over
him.Both looked sleepy and comfortable,
Guy blinking and squinting up at Symon, his golden eyes reflecting the flames.

My
God, he's got beautiful eyes.So
clear...

Beautiful,
golden, demon eyes.

He
was suddenly furious with himself.Bullshit.He hated when lecturers
talked about demons as if they were foreign to humanity.

Demons
were curled around every person's heart.

"Okay."Guy crawled out from under Chien and headed
for their bedroom, rubbing his eyes."You're right, I'm pretty tired."

Tired
or not, Guy was waiting with hot water, soap and a cloth when Symon took off
his schert.Symon submitted to the
bathing, but drew away when Guy's hand wandered towards his groin.

"I
said no," Symon muttered."Stupid idiot.Can't you get
it through your head?"

Guy
just looked at him."You need
it."

"No,
I don't."Symon slipped into his
bed."Shut up and sleep."

Shrugging,
Guy washed himself and within a few moments he was curled up in his blankets on
the hutch.Symon blew out the candle by
the bed and drew the curtains shut.

He'd
barely settled his head on his pillow when Guy spoke out of the darkness.

"They're
doin' it, you know."

"Who's
doing what?"

"Hawk
and Gervase.I can hear them.They're makin' each other feel good."

Symon
cursed.He listened hard."I don't hear anything."

"It
sounds like maybe Gervase is on the bot—"

"Shut
up!If you say another word, I'll kill
you.Got that?"

Guy
remained silent for all of five heartbeats."You know, you're pretty cranky.It wouldn't hurt you to feel good, too."

"I
said shut up."

"You
could do me any way you wanted to, I don't mind.Hands, mouth, arse.I know how to make you feel good with any of
'em."

"Shut
the fuck up!"

"You
are, though," Guy pointed out, his voice reasonable."You're pretty, but you'd be prettier if
you weren't so cranky."

"Shut
the fuck up, or I swear to God I'll kill you, you little shit!"

He
heard a heavy sigh."Fine.G'night."

Listening
to the sound of Guy getting comfortable in his blankets, Symon cursed under his
breath.Guy's offer had gone straight to
his prick; he was harder now than he had been last night in his dream.He waited until Guy was snoring, then began
to stroke himself, trying to finish as quickly as possible in case the kid woke
up.

His
climax was harsh and intense.

Symon
panted into his pillow.The situation
was ridiculous.Hawk and Gervase
couldn't be… He shuddered as the image of a dark-haired man moving firmly over
a muscular body with blood-red hair, both men touched by the light from the
fire, arose in his mind before he managed to expel it from his thoughts.

Assholes.He didn't give a fuck what those two bastards
did when he wasn't around, he just didn't want to know about it.

Guy,
on the other hand, was impossible to stop thinking about.The boy was beautiful, not slutty-pretty like
Gervase or refined pretty like Hawk, but smooth and young and full of life,
with eyes that burned with the flames of the sun.

He
fell asleep thinking of the sun and golden eyes.Later, when he woke to find that he was once
again wrapped tight within Guy's grasp, he just sighed and slipped back into
sleep.

Part Five:Of Fire and Water

The
mornings after the nights when Gervase shared his bed, Hawk always awoke early
in order to manage the logistics of keeping Symon ignorant of their… well,
relationship, Hawk supposed.It had long
ago stopped being a matter of convenience.

Though
he hoped Symon would never find out, he also knew that if Symon ever did, he'd
prefer Hawk to do whatever possible to make it seem as if he hadn't.

But
today Gervase's arms were so warm and the breath against the back of his neck
so trusting and gentle…

Hawk
jolted awake."Smoke."

Suddenly,
Chien started barking.

Hawk
sprang from the bed."Get up,
Gervase!" he shouted, pulling on his braies and tying them around his
waist.He rushed out of his room to
collide with Symon, who was pulling an undertunic over his head, Guy following
right behind him, wrapped in a blanket, his eyes wide."Smoke," Hawk said as pushed past
them to run down the stairs and through the main room to the door.He could hear the rest of the household
pounding down the stairs behind him.

Chien
was barking and growling at the door."Hold him back!" Hawk said.

Guy
grabbed Chien and held him tightly as Hawk threw the door open.

The
outside of the door was ablaze, flames eating eagerly at the wood, long black
char marks leaping upwards above them.Hawk looked around desperately, yanked the cloth from the table and
started to beat at the flames.

"Holy
fuck!"Gervase appeared beside him,
naked, a bucket full of water in his hand."Pass me more!" he shouted at Symon.

Through
the smoke, Hawk could see Symon grimly dipping a bucket into the tub of water
that they kept nearby the fire.Guy
sprang to help and Chien darted past Hawk and disappeared into the crowd that
was gathering to watch.

"No!Chien!" Hawk shouted.He kept beating at the flames while Gervase
splashed more water on the door, Symon and Guy forming a bucket chain to bring
him more.

Somehow
they managed to extinguish it before it set the straw in the daub that
plastered the house afire.Hawk stood,
panting and covered with soot.He looked
past the crowd to see if he could see Chien, but the dog had vanished.

"Chien."He could only hope that no one would remember
whom Chien's owner was if they came across the dog.

Something
wet and cold and heavy suddenly hit him on his shoulder.He put a hand to it.

"Get
inside.Now!"Gervase yanked him inside and stepped in
front of the charred door."Which
of you bastards threw that?Was it you,
William?"

Standing
in the main room of the house, Hawk looked at his hand.It was covered with manure.

"Let
me."Guy appeared beside him and
carefully wiped the dung from his hand and shoulder with a rag."Sorry," he said."No more water."

"Thank
you," Hawk said.He glanced around
at the toppled bench and stools and the trail of mud that stretched across the
dirt floor from the water tub to the door, and then picked up two of the
buckets."I'll go out for
more."

"Idiot,"
Symon said."Let the mercenary
handle it.

"It
goes faster if there are two of us." Hawk crossed to the door."Excuse me, please," he said to
Gervase, who stood in his way."You
might want to take a moment to put on some clothing."

Hawk
shook his head."There are more
buckets in the house.I'll see you at
the well."He stepped around
Gervase and walked towards the crowd.

Their
jeers faded as he passed, until two men stepped in front of him.

"Pardon
me," Hawk said.

"Fuckin'
university cunt," one of them said.He spat on the ground at Hawk's bare feet.The crowd laughed.

Hawk
smiled pleasantly, then kneed him in the bollocks an instant before he sent a
bucket into the second man's midriff.In
an instant, both men were on the ground, groaning.

The
smile never left Hawk's face.He turned
to the crowd."This is my home,
those are my friends and I'm prepared to fight for both."

Gervase
appeared by his side, braies tied clumsily around his waist and his sword
hanging by his side.He carried two
buckets."An' if you don't clear
the hell out, I'll fuckin' cut you in half," he yelled at the crowd."Got it?Good.Then go the fuck home
unless you wanna help us clean up."

The
crowd broke up, though there was still an undercurrent of angry muttering.Hawk and Gervase ignored it and made their
way to the well.

"D'ya
think anyone saw Guy?" Gervase asked quietly.

"I
honestly don't see how they could have avoided doing so," Hawk replied,
his voice equally quiet."He was
holding Chien, and like a fool I called out when Chien escaped.People were bound to look then.Even if they didn't, they must have noticed
him when he was handing you buckets of water."

"Yeah."

They
filled the buckets in silence and headed back.Just before they got to the house, Hawk murmured, "I'm sorry I
didn't listen to you when you told me how bad it was."

"Don't
sweat it.I was hopin' to be proved
wrong."

Hawk
smiled and glanced at the house."Oh dear."

"What?"Gervase looked, too, and cursed.

Symon
stood in front of the house looking like thundercloud, his arms crossed and his
golden hair glowing against the soot that covered his face and clothing.

In
front of him stood Denys and another man, slim and slight next to Denys's tall
frame, his deep red hair tied with a black ribbon.Hawk suspected that the man's size and the
refinement of his features was deceptive; he held himself like a warrior and
carried a sword at his hip, half-hidden beneath his cloak.Two palfreys bedecked in fine trappings were
tethered by the door.

Hawk
saw a look pass between Gervase and Denys.The coolness with which they assessed each other alarmed him, as did
Gervase's casual movement of hand to sword.Keeping his eyes on them, Hawk said, "Symon's correct, my
lord.We harbour no murderer."

Konstantine
turned.His gaze swept over Hawk
coldly."I have received reports
that you house a slave under your roof, one with light brown hair and
eyes.Other reports I have received
connect that slave directly with the death of my mother."

"Then
the reports are wrong."Symon's
glare would kill a lesser man, Hawk thought."Yes, we have a man living here who fits that description.But we found him nearly dead, beaten so badly
that he couldn't walk, much less kill someone."

"If
he was so close to death the night before last, how is it that he was helping
you to extinguish the fire that nearly consumed your home?"

"He
heals extremely quickly, my lord," Hawk said quietly.He set his buckets on the rutted street,
too."I was with Symon when he
found him, and can vouch for his condition.We weren't sure if he would make it, but he's proven to be remarkably
resilient."

Denys
and Gervase shouted at the same time, but Konstantine held up his hand and they
fell silent.

"You're
wrong, asshole," Symon said."I don't know where the hell you got your information, but my guess
is that person's lying to you."

"Dyonisius
saw bloody clothing."

"The
clothes were mine.The blood was from
carrying the wounded man."

"He'd
been tortured," Hawk said."The wounds that he received weren't like any I've ever seen."

"His
master told me that he had to discipline the slave harshly to keep the devil at
bay," Konstantine replied.

"Who's
the sonofabitch who did that to Guy?" Symon demanded."I'll kill the bastard!"

"And
I'll help," Hawk said."The
only devil in this situation is that man."

"Hey
man, look," Gervase said to Denys. "I didn't see the brat's wounds, but I
can tell you straight out, he's not a devil."

Denys
glanced at Konstantine."My lord,
perhaps Gervase has been deceived, but I've never known him to lie, and his
judgement of other men has always been sound."

Konstantine
frowned in thought, looking from one of them to the other, the initial anger in
his face fading to a cool appraisal."I won't betray the name of his owner," he finally said."But I'll look into this further.If I find you're mistaken about the slave's
identity, I'll return and claim justice."

"Then
bring a fucking army with you, because we're not turning him over," Symon
said.

Hawk
watched as Gervase pulled Denys aside and murmured something Hawk couldn't
catch.Denys glanced sharply at Gervase,
shock written on his face, before nodding abruptly and glancing at Hawk and
Symon.

"You
should know that you weren't the only ones who were attacked," Denys
said."One house was burned to the
ground and several others were heavily damaged.You were lucky you responded as quickly as you did."

"Damn."Gervase stared at the blackened door.

"Scholars
are leaving town," Denys added."Last night, I saw dozens of torches on the road leading to London."

"The
townspeople decided that a student killed your mother," Symon said."Why aren't you following the official
verdict?Did Guy's master tell you that
Guy was guilty?"

Konstantine
remained silent, his face betraying nothing.

Symon's
eyes narrowed."Maybe that master
has something to hide."

"I'll
investigate," Konstantine repeated.He turned his gaze on each of them in turn."But know this, Wallingford.I'm still not satisfied with your
answers.If I find that you've been
deceiving me, I'll have you hanged."

"Tch."

Konstantine
ignored Symon and mounted his horse, taking up the reins with a firm hand as
the palfrey danced and threw its head.He turned to Denys."We'll
go back to the castle and look into this further."

Hawk
followed him inside, each pouring their buckets into the tub, but leaving one
out by the fire to warm.

"I'll
clean up upstairs," Gervase said in a low voice."Make it look—you know."

"Thank
you."Hawk had completely forgotten
about their night together and the clothing strewn across his bedroom.

Gervase
disappeared upstairs.

Symon
came inside a moment after."Idiots," he muttered."I'm surrounded by them."He glared at Hawk."I'm
washing up and going back to bed.If
anyone bothers me, I'll kill him."

"I'll
help," Guy offered."You're
pretty dirty, you know."

Symon
glared at him, too, but didn't say no, Hawk noted.

Gervase
came down the stairs, his arms full of clothing.

Symon
turned to him."What did you say to
Konstantine's man?"

"I
told him about the bitch who's sleeping with Konstantine's dad."Gervase frowned."Why?"

Symon
shook his head."Idiots.Tch."He pushed past Gervase and went up the stairs, Guy following after
throwing wide-eyed glances at Hawk and Gervase.

Hawk
sighed.He couldn't answer Guy's
unspoken worry.Instead, he began to
sluice the worst of the soot and grime from his body, exhausted.He knew he should start planning, but the
excitement of the morning had left him drained.

Gervase
stripped Hawk of his braies and began to watch his back with water that was
still colder than was entirely comfortable.Hawk shivered.Gervase rinsed the
soapy water from his back and started on an arm.

"I
told Denys to look closer to home for the murderer," Gervase said quietly.

"Who
could Guy's former owner be, I wonder?"

"Beats
me."Gervase frowned."From what you an' Symon said, it has to
be some kind of pervert.Who'd torture a
kid like that?Beat 'im, yeah, sure, if
he screws up.But tie him up an' whip
him with a strap?"He moved in
front of Hawk, washing his chest."The only person I could see doing that would be that asshole
Nicholaus, but he couldn't afford to keep a slave, let alone hide one for six
months."

The
thought of Nicholaus owning a slave made Hawk shiver."He's not the only twisted person in the
world," he said."But I
agree.His name is the first that leaps
to mind."

Gervase
paused, holding one of Hawk's arms and slowly moving the soapy cloth over
it."It's none of my
business," he said slowly, "but what do you plan to do if Lord
Konstantine comes back an' tries to take Guy?"

"Oppose
him, of course."

"What
if that means drawin' weapons?"

"It
wouldn't matter.Guy didn't murder Lady
Richemon.I won't see him condemned for
something he didn't do."Hawk
caught Gervase's hand as it travelled down his arm."Would you truly want me to step aside
or hide?"

Gervase
hesitated, clearly wanting to say, 'yes', but finally he shook his head and
sighed.Hawk released his hand and Gervase
continued to wash him, but his strokes were much slower.

"If
it comes to fightin', Lord Konstantine will go straight for Guy, which means
he'll leave you an' me to face Denys," Gervase said quietly."No one knows it but me, but Denys is
almost blind on the side of his face with the scar.If you manoeuvre him into a corner that traps
his good side…"

Hawk
listened with half an ear, knowing that if Denys attacked him, his biggest
advantage would simply be that he was fighting for his life, while Denys would
most likely be fighting to subdue him.Hawk was fairly sure that he'd be reasonably creative in a life or death
scenario, and if not, there were worse ways to die than to be killed by an
expert swordsman.

Like
hanging.

After
Gervase finished drying him, Hawk began to dress.He had quite a bit to plan, including how to
make sure that when they left Oxford, Gervase didn't stay
behind.

"I'd
better clean up, too.Then I need to get
someone to fix the damned door."Gervase stood and dropped his braies."Get my back for me?"

"Of
course."First things first, and it
was a task he was happy to reciprocate.For a brief time, Hawk put aside his plans in favour of enjoying the
simple pleasure of bathing his lover's body.

Then
he left to find Chien, only to find the Chien had already returned home and was
waiting for him outside, holding up a bloodied paw and stinking of pigs.He held something clutched between his teeth.

Chien's
tail wagged madly.

Part Six:Of Rain and Revelations

Symon
stormed down the stairs.That fucking
asshole of an oversexed brat had better stay put, or Symon would kill him.

Symon
glared."Obviously.I meant, why the fuck are you soaked?And where'd you find the mutt?"

Gervase
grinned."Waitin' for us on the
doorstep.He had this in his
mouth."He threw a piece of fabric
at Symon, who caught it automatically."It took us forever to scrub him clean, the little rat."

Chien
barked once, but his tail moved in lazy swipes across his blanket.

Frowning,
Symon turned the fabric over in his hand.It was muddy, but the dark wool was unmistakable."This is from a scholar's robes."

"Yes."Hawk sat back and pushed the hair from his
face."Interesting, isn't it?"

"Can
townspeople get hold of this kind of wool?"

Gervase
shrugged."You guys get your robes
made special, so it wouldn't be easy.But not impossible, either.The
material's probably for sale in London.Or a student could have taken his robe to
someone to get it washed, like we do."

"So
what's the significance?"Symon
tossed the scrap back to Gervase and pulled a stool close to the fire, pouring
himself some ale.

"Do
you think that someone from town would wear robes like ours while there are
mobs out there hunting for students?It
could happen, I suppose," Hawk mused, "but if it did, I think it
would have to be either someone who felt that he'd be recognised by the other
townspeople so he'd be safe, or someone very sure that he would be able to
defend himself."

"Most
of the people in this town are merchants."Symon drained the cup, thinking furiously."Not too prone to fighting or
defence."

"Which
leaves a student or someone prominent enough to be recognised, but common
enough to have access to a student's robes," Hawk agreed."We only wear them for formal occasions,
so they're not that easily come by."

"In
your hutch, underneath your azure cloak," Hawk said."Or so I would imagine," he added
with a demure smile as Symon shot him a sharp glance.

"Stop
messing with my things."

"Yes,
yes," Hawk said."Perhaps in future
you'd like me to leave them for you to have laundered and put away?"

"Where's
the brat, by the way?" Gervase asked hastily.

Symon
stopped glaring at Hawk and turned to Gervase."Sleeping."

"Wore
him out, did you?" Gervase leered.

"Fuck
you!"Symon stood abruptly and
stalked to the door.

"Where
are you going?" Hawk asked.

"Away
from you assholes."

"Wait!"Symon snarled as Hawk grabbed his arm.Hawk let go of him, but continued."I don't think any of us should be out there
alone right now."

"I've
got a knife," Symon replied.He
opened the door; the stink of wet, burned wood flooded the house anew."Tch."

Hawk
grabbed the door and held it."At
least give us an idea of where you might be going and when we can expect you
back.Guy will worry," he added,
looking innocent.

Treacherous,
manipulative bastard."I'm going
out for a drink.I'll be back in a
couple of hours.Satisfied?"Without waiting for an answer, Symon yanked
the door out of Hawk's grip and left the house.

The
day had turned cold, and the air hung heavy as if it were going to rain at any
time.Symon pulled his cloak around him
more tightly, fuming.

The
brat.The fucking brat.He'd told the idiot not to touch him, but the
moron had grabbed his prick and babbled about making him feel good and fuck! it
had been good, so good that Symon had come hard, then forgot
himself and kissed Guy and fisted the boy's prick until the brat had spilled,
too, and then they'd fallen asleep, entangled together as if born to it.

Then
they'd awoke and Guy's face had borne such a self-satisfied smirk that Symon
had clouted him on the ear and threatened to kill him if Guy showed his face
downstairs until after dark, before escaping down the stairs in search of
strong drink.

I
wish I'd never listened to that fucking voice…

The
heavens opened and a sodden, heavy rain began to fall.

Cursing,
Symon looked around.He'd left the
university area of the town behind him and was well beyond the tavern that he
occasionally visited.In fact, he'd left
Oxford proper altogether.Beyond the haze of rain lay nothing but
fields, while next to him was the open maw of one of the peasant hovels that
littered the edge of the town, ripe and putrid with the stench of pig shit, rotted
food, sour peat ash and human waste.

He
pulled the hood of his cloak up – for all the good it would do him, since he
was already soaked to the skin – and turned to go back towards town.

A
man stood in his way.Symon cursed
again.

The
man was tall and clean-shaven; though attractive, his face was cruel and
intelligent.His black cloak billowed in
the wind that had sprung up with the storm.Underneath it he wore torn and ragged scholar's robes and a mocking
grin.

"Lord
Symon de Wallingford," he said."Fancy meeting you here.Alone.In the rain."He tilted his head."Dangerous in these times, don't you
think?"

"Nicholaus,"
Symon said."Get out of my
way."

"I
hear that you're in trouble," Nicholaus said, as relaxed and sociable as
though they were in a tavern or attending a lecture, not standing in the rain
surrounded by mud and rain-soaked fields, next to a dripping, stinking cess
pit."I hear that you've taken in a
demon."

"You've
heard wrong."Symon walked past
Nicholaus, only to be stopped by a hand gripping his arm."Let go of me."

Nicholaus
pulled closer."A demon with golden
eyes," he said softly in Symon's ear."I hear that there are those in Oxford who think you and your
demon killed Lady Richemon."

Symon
tried to yank his arm away, but Nicholaus held it in an iron clasp."And I hear you're fucking Lord
Richemon's whore," Symon hissed."Who do you think has the better motive to get rid of the only
person standing between that bitch and Richemon's fortune?"

"Oh
ho."Nicholaus's smile faded for a
moment as he gazed at Symon, his eyes calculating.Then it returned."What a sophisticated imagination you
have," he said mockingly."This isn't some court intrigue, though.It's a close-knit community, full of plain
people.People who think that strangers
are dangerous."

"You're
a stranger yourself," Symon retorted."And greed isn't a particularly sophisticated motive.Lord Konstantine knows about his father and
the whore," he added, watching Nicholaus closely.

Again,
Nicholaus seemed to be startled, though when he recovered his smile, this time
he seemed genuinely amused."You
mean my student?"Symon started,
and Nicholaus's grin widened."Didn't you know?I was
raised in Oxford.I'm
well known by the clergy in town.And
I've been tutoring little Lord Red-hair since Lent."He made a dismissive gesture with his
hand."Lord Konstantine is hardly
likely to believe you over me."

He
knows Konstantine.Symon's mind raced.Did Nicholaus have a role in this charade apart
from being cuckolded by his mistress?When he'd accused Nicholaus of benefiting from Lady Richemon's death,
he'd simply been trying to get back at the man for his arrogance.But what if his blind shot was actually the
truth?

Nicholaus
was ambitious as hell and believed in an eat-or-be-eaten world.Nicholaus was a sadistic bastard.Nicholaus had mentioned golden eyes.Nicholaus owned a scholar's gown.Nicholaus's black cape, sharp tongue,
glittering, calculating eyes…

Nicholaus
threw back his head and began to laugh."Sharp as ever, aren't you, Wallingford?"He wiped his eyes, still chuckling."I didn't buy him with money.I bought him with the currency commonly used
to buy a demon."

"Your
soul," Symon said, his eyes narrowed.He clutched his hands into fists."You bastard.You're the one
who beat him, aren't you?"

"One
must keep a demon in line," Nicholaus said with a smile.

"He's
not a demon!"

"Have
you removed his necklace yet?"

Symon's
heart pounded.The damned necklace.What the hell was it?

"I
did.Once."Nicholaus's smile turned lascivious."He was bound well, of course.Chains, a muzzle, stocks."His voice quieted in an obscene parody of an
intimate secret amongst friends as he leaned closer once again."I stripped him naked."He touched the side of his nose."He's a demon."

"Bastard!"His blood roaring in his ears, Symon leapt at
Nicholaus, but Nicholaus wasn't there.Whirling and slipping in the mud, Symon barely had time to raise his arm
to ward off a blow from the cudgel that was suddenly in Nicholaus's hand.The impact unbalanced him; his feet slid out
from under him and he tumbled down a slope until he was lying in a ditch full
of icy water, his hands scrabbling at the muddy verge in a vain effort to get
to his feet, Nicholaus kneeling astride him with both hands around his throat,
the cudgel tossed to the side.

"How
convenient," Nicholaus whispered. "Once you're dead, everyone will hear
about how you tried to attack me, how you housed evil in your home and your
heart.They'll draw their own
conclusions about who murdered Lady Richemon.They'll chop your head from your body and tar it and impale it on a
spike at the town's gates as a warning to other murderers.They'll hang your companions as
accessories.A nice, neat little
package."

"You
killed her!" Symon rasped.

Nicholaus's
grip tightened."And what if I
did?"

No
more air.Symon felt his body convulse
with the desperate need to breathe, but the mud was too damned slippery and
Nicholaus held him down, was forcing his face into the water: even if Symon
could take a breath, he'd drown.He
could feel his struggles growing weaker, so he redoubled his efforts, but it
was too late—

Symon
began to drift into the darkness.

The
hands disappeared.

Symon's
body arched as his face broke the surface of the water.He dragged in a deep breath, only to start
coughing as rain poured into his open mouth.He fumbled until he was sitting upright and then looked around.

Guy
had Nicholaus's cudgel.The two were
circling each other warily, each apparently watching for an opportunity to
strike.Nicholaus held one arm pressed
awkwardly to his side.

"Guy!"
Symon choked.

Guy
glanced at him, and in a heartbeat, Nicholaus disappeared.Guy looked around, then ran to Symon.

"Symon!"He put an arm around Symon to steady him.

"Fuck."Symon's body shook, the tremors so strong
that he couldn't hold himself upright."Watch out for him."

Guy
continued to drag him forward."Nobody's
in there, just some chickens and pigs on the other side of the wall," he
said, pulling him into the hovel."I'll start a fire."

"You'll
burn the place down around our heads."Symon covered his nose and mouth with his hands."Fuck!The stench!"

"You'll
get used to it."Guy pushed him
onto the dirt floor and fanned the embers of the fire the owner had carefully
protected earlier in the day, and then piled peat bricks over the coals.Once the bricks were stacked, he turned back
to Symon and began to rub Symon's arms and legs to warm him.

Within
moments, the peat began to glow and Symon could feel the fire's warmth growing,
though his body continued to shake uncontrollably.

"That
was him, wasn't it?Your master?"

"Yeah,
that's Crow."Guy turned away and
looked out the door of the hovel."It's gonna keep rainin' for a while.We should stay here 'til you're warm."

Symon
shook his head."Can't
wait."He clenched his jaw to keep
his teeth from chattering."Nicholaus will be back, and he'll bring the townspeople with
him.And they'll go to the house,
too.We've got to warn Hawk and
Gervase."He tried to pull himself
to his feet, but Guy held him down without effort.

"Uh
uh."Guy bit his lip, his face
scrunched up in concentration.

"Don't
argue—"

"I'm
not arguin', I'm thinkin'!"Guy
glared at Symon."I heard ya!We've gotta get home fast.That means you gotta warm up fast."

"Put
some of those coals in a pot or something," Symon said."I can hold it while we walk."

Guy
rolled his eyes."Yeah, that would
work, if you could walk.But you're
shakin' too hard."His expression
brightened."I got it!"

Infuriatingly,
Guy was stronger.Within moments,
Symon's wrung-out clothing was hanging from rafters over the fire, a few
remaining drips hissing on the hot coals.He pulled his knees to his chest and shivered in the damp air.

"How's
this supposed to make me warmer?" he muttered through chattering teeth.

"Lean
back on that pallet."Guy pushed
Symon down on a pallet that was probably crawling with lice, but Symon was
shaking too hard to put up any sort of struggle."Right."He lay down beside Symon and grinned."I've been wanting to do this for
ages."

"You
haven't known me for ages, you stupid monk—Ah!"

Guy's
mouth felt as hot as a fire on Symon's cold-shrunk flesh.He groaned, half in pain but mostly in
pleasure as his prick began to grow in Guy's mouth.Blood rushed to Symon's groin and blossomed
into a flush of heat that he could feel burning in his face and across his
chest.

"Fuck!"

He'd
heard of this, but had never experienced it, had never even had the curiosity
to pursue it.Now that it was happening,
Symon couldn't stop himself; he bucked into the wet heat and groaned as Guy's
tongue slid under his foreskin to brush against the sensitive head of his
cock.He could feel himself swell
larger.

Guy
moaned, sounding happy.He would be,
Symon thought as he began to move his hips, easing himself deeper into Guy's
eager mouth.He's eating, the little
shit.

Guy
looked up at him, his golden eyes shining.He let Symon's prick fall from his mouth, but gathered him in his fist,
pumping him steadily."I thought
you'd like this," he said with a grin.

"Don't
be smug," Symon said.He pulled Guy
up and kissed him, his tongue sliding into Guy's mouth.Oh, God, he could taste himself on Guy's
lips.He groaned again.

Guy
grinned some more.He licked his lips
and slid back down, taking Symon's prick back into his mouth. Symon was fully
erect, the cold a distant memory as Guy began sucking in earnest.

The
thought of a man's prick in his mouth had always disgusted Symon before, but
this wasn't a man, this was Guy.Symon
found himself wanting to taste Guy, to wrap his tongue around Guy's prick and
run it under Guy's foreskin.He lightly
slapped Guy's head.

Guy's
eyes widened and he made room for Symon to slide around.When Symon reached for the ties to his
braies, though, he hesitated."You
don't have to."

"Has
anyone ever done this for you?"

Guy
shook his head.

"Good,"
Symon said.He loosened the ties and
reached for Guy's prick, pulling it out of the cloth and weighing its heavy
heat in his hand.He dipped his head and
drew in a deep breath.Guy smelled like
musk and fresh sweat, but clean, much cleaner than the hovel they sheltered
in.Symon's mouth watered.

He
swiped his tongue across the tip of Guy's prick.Guy's flavour burst over his tongue, salty
and bitter."Fucking rain," he
muttered, then took Guy's prick into his mouth and began to suck.

Symon's
tongue seemed to have a mind of its own, pushing back the foreskin, circling
along the velvet shaft, tracing the veins that ran along Guy's hard cock,
dipping into the small slit to savour the drops of precome that formed
within.He felt Guy do the same to him,
pleasure flooding his veins.It almost
made up for the ache that settled into his jaw; to ease it, he stopped sucking
Guy's prick and ran his tongue up the sides of it, mouthing the head and the
base until the cramping eased and he could take Guy into his mouth once more.

Damn.This was good.He could feel his climax build as Guy's mouth
worked his sensitive glans, alternately sucking and laving.Heart pounding, breathing heavily through his
nose, he did the same to Guy.

The
mouth on his prick tightened, and Symon felt Guy's tongue spear into his slit
as his clever fingers massaged Symon's bollocks.Symon's climax ambushed him, intense and
ferocious.He tried to keep himself from
driving his prick deep into Guy's slick throat as he came, wave upon wave of
pleasure rolling through him.

Guy
swallowed around him.Oh, fuck, so
fucking good—

Guy's
prick swelled against his tongue.Before
Symon could take his mouth away, a burst of thick, bitter fluid flooded out of
Guy's prick and down Symon's throat, followed immediately by another, and
another.There was nothing Symon could
do but swallow or choke, so he swallowed the bitter stuff down as the last shocks
of pleasure from his own orgasm trickled through him.He released Guy's prick only when it started
to soften and shrink in his mouth.

They
lay panting, draped across each other, the sound of the rain and the stench of
the hovel surrounding them once more.Symon groaned and pushed himself up from the pallet.He wiped his mouth and glared down at the
traces of come on his hand.

Nothing
remotely sexy about cold semen.With a
grunt, he wiped his hand on the pallet.Sex.What a fucking messy
business it was.

Guy
rubbed his ear, glaring."What's
that for?I got you warm, for cripes
sake."

Symon
clouted him again."That's for
saying 'cripes'.And the other was for
listening to the fucking mercenary."

"Jerk."Guy rubbed his ear some more, but his glare
disappeared."We gotta get back,
right?"

"Right."Symon pulled down his still-wet undertunic
and held it to the fire.He slipped it
on as soon as it seemed a bit less clammy and then yanked his cloak down to do
the same."What the hell were you
doing out here, anyway?I thought I told
you to stay put, idiot."

"You.So I climbed out the window an' followed
you."He scratched his head.

"Shit.You've got fleas now, don't you?"Symon growled; the cloak was never going to
dry, but at least it was temporarily warm.His body heat could do the rest.He wrapped it around himself."Leave it," he said as Guy started to gather the rest of his
clothing."It's too muddy and torn
to wear again.Just give me the
shoes."

They
made their way back to the house via back ways, slipping through alleys and
creeping across livestock pens to avoid being seen.Few people were out in the rain, which made
their journey much easier.

Once
they safely reached the house, Symon had barely lifted the latch when the door
flew open.

Symon
pushed past Gervase and dropped his cloak to the floor."Are we all packed?"

"Nearly,"
Hawk said.

"Finish.We leave now."

"What?Wait, you bastard!I thought we'd agreed—"

"Nicholaus
killed Lady Richemon.He tried to kill
me.He's also the bastard who owns
Guy.He'll be coming after us, along
with half the town."

Gervase
frowned."But if he's the murderer,
we just tell everyone he did it.End of
story, everything goes back to normal."

"We
don't have any proof that he killed her, just my word against his.He's tutoring Richemon's son.Who do you think Richemon or the townspeople
are going to believe, idiot?"Symon
crossed to the fire, took off his undertunic and began to wash the mud from his
body."Guy, get clean clothes, ones
that we can travel in."

"I'll
wait for the carriage and then take Guy to my estate.You two leave now."Symon finished drying himself just as Guy
came bounding back down the stairs, dressed in dry clothing and carrying an
armful of clothes for Symon.

"Hawk's
right, asshole," Gervase said."We're in this together.Besides, we've got a better chance of getting out alive if there are
four of us."

"You
said that Nicholaus tried to kill you."Hawk separated some hose from the pile of clothing and handed it to
Symon, who dressed himself quickly."How did you get away?"

"Guy."

"Heh,"
said Gervase."I guess the kid
really can take care of himself."He rubbed Guy's hair with his knuckles."Nice work, monkey."

"Don't
call me monkey," Guy retorted, but he grinned.

"I've
been thinking," Hawk said."Remember the night when Lady Richemon was killed?We attended the lecture.Nicholaus was supposed to be there, too, but
he never showed up.Perhaps we can build
a case from that if we need to buy some time."

"I
wouldn't count on it," Symon said, lacing his shoes."No witnesses.The scholars are getting the hell out of Oxford.Besides, the townspeople wouldn't believe
anyone from the university.There.What's left to pack?"

Gervase
strapped on his sword and took his cloak from the hook."We don't have much time.I'll go get the horses and the
carriage."

"Take
Chien with you."

Gervase
nodded and beckoned the dog, then opened the door and peered up and down the
street, Chien at his side.He looked
back at them one last time and then he and Chien disappeared.

Hawk
closed the door, but left the bolt unset for Gervase's return."I'll finish packing up the
manuscripts.Your hutch is packed and
waiting just inside your bedroom."

Symon
grunted and yanked Guy's collar."Get up there, stupid monkey."He followed Guy up the stairs.

Guy
was uncharacteristically quiet as they gathered up the few things that Hawk had
missed.Symon grew more annoyed with
each passing moment of silence."What the hell is it now?"

Guy
glanced at him uncertainly."You're
all in trouble because of me," he said."Maybe if I—"

"Shut
up."Symon grabbed the front of
Guy's schert and pulled him face to face."Just shut up."

Then
he kissed him.

Guy's
mouth still faintly tasted of Symon, so he chased the flavour through every
corner of Guy's mouth, burying his fingers in Guy's coarse hair.Guy moaned and pressed closer.

The
fucking little prick.Symon couldn't
believe how the brat had got under his skin.He kissed Guy more deeply, wanting to devour the heat and passion and
keep it deep inside him.Guy responded
with a growl that sent shivers down Symon's spine.

He's
a demon,
Nicholaus's voice whispered in his mind.I stripped him naked.

There
was a pounding at the door.Symon and
Guy jumped apart as they heard it crash open, followed by a sharp cry from
Hawk, abruptly cut off.Pushing Guy
behind him, Symon went to the top of the stairs and looked down.

Half
a dozen soldiers stood at the bottom of the stairs, swords drawn.More filled the room behind them.Hawk was on the floor, motionless; Symon
couldn't tell if he was alive or dead.

"Symon
de Wallingford, you're under arrest for the murder of Lady Richemon and crimes
against the Church."

"Tch,"
Symon said.

Part Seven:Of Trials and the Hangman's Noose

Hawk groaned.He was cold and his head hurt and his eyes seemed to be crusted
shut.He felt dirt under his fingers and
someone pressed tight against him, but when he tried to push the person away,
he couldn't move.

"Wha--?"

"Shut up and don't move."

A frisson of both relief and apprehension ran down
Hawk's spine.Symon was there, which was
good, since he had someone he knew and trusted with him.On the other hand, if Symon was in the same
situation as he was, it meant that both of them were essentially helpless. He
flexed his muscles and found that his hands were bound tightly behind his back.

Hawk opened his eyes and blinked several
times.Things seemed out of focus at
first, but gradually his head cleared and his eyes adapted to the darkness.

Not that it helped, since Symon's body blocked his
view.What light there was seemed to come
from a distance away, somewhere above him, and it flickered.Torchlight.Either darkness had fallen or they were in a windowless structure of
some kind.He could hear several men
talking not too far away.

"Where are we?" he whispered.

"The castle, in the dungeons," Symon
breathed.

"Just us?"

"No.They arrested Guy, too.But they
put him in a separate cell.I could hear
them hitting him and telling him to shut up.He's been quiet for a while, now."

"Oh, God."They hadn't escaped in time.At least Gervase isn't here.

"I overheard them saying that we'll be put on
trial in the morning.We're to be hanged
at dawn the day after that."

"Why even bother with a trial?"

"It sounds like one of the King's men is here
to see justice done.Otherwise I doubt
we'd still be alive."

"You've always been a pessimist," Hawk
said, but the humour fell flat.

"We're tied up.I haven't had any luck trying to get
loose.Even if we did, we're both
shackled to the wall by our ankles.Locked cell, guards outside, Guy in a separate locked cell, bound and
shackled, too, I imagine."

Hawk could hear Symon's unspoken refusal to abandon
Guy.He agreed, of course, but anger
still welled up regardless.They had so
little time left."Too bad one of
us isn't a legendary knight with a magic sword."He couldn't keep the bitterness from his
voice.

Symon grunted."I don't believe in magic," he said.

"Perhaps they'll allow us to advocate for
ourselves."

"Maybe."

"I'll think about it," Hawk said."Technically, the King doesn't have
direct jurisdiction over us."

"Technically, we didn't commit a crime in the
first place."

"Yes," Hawk agreed softly."I won't give up without trying."

"Shut up and get some sleep, Aristotle."

Perhaps
it was the head injury, but Hawk thought it sounded like good advice.He closed his eyes and let the world fade
away.

He
awoke to a rough prod in the ribs and a man saying, "Gerrup, ya murderin'
bastards.His Lordship's waitin'."

There
was the sound of a key in a lock and the rattle of chains, and then Hawk was
hauled to his feet.He fell backwards
into a wall and closed his eyes, willing the room to stop spinning.Before it fully stopped, though, he was
yanked forward and pushed across the room.He opened his eyes.Symon was
being pushed through the doorway but had his head turned, looking back at him,
so Hawk nodded.Symon nodded back and
then they were both being marched down a long hallway, surrounded by soldiers
carrying spears.

The
only bright spot that Hawk could see in the situation was that his head didn't
hurt quite so abominably.

They
were escorted into a great hall, filled with morning light.

The
soldiers halted Hawk and Symon in front several people sitting at the middle of
a long table.Lord Richemon sat at the
middle, Lord Konstantine at his right and a man whom Hawk had never seen before
on his left, next to a man dressed in the robes of an abbot.The mayor of Oxford sat next to Lord
Konstantine.Beyond him sat a woman with
golden hair who watched them from hooded eyes.

It
was plain by their expressions that a verdict had already been reached.

"Speak
your names," Lord Konstantine said.

Hawk
exchanged glances with Symon and nodded.

"My
name is Symon, Lord Wallingford.This
man is my vassal."

Lord
Richemon grunted."Wallingford.A pissant seat run by a pissant family."

The
abbot cleared his throat, face flaming."My lord, this boy's uncle is John of Wallingford, the Abbot of St
Albans.The estates date back to early
Saxon times."

"Saxons."Richemon snorted."Bloody barbaric land thieves."

"Funny.That's what we say about the Normans," Symon said."Didn't this castle belong to the
D'Orlys until just recently?"

Richemon's
face flushed."You little bastard,
how dare you—!"

"My
lord," said the man to Richemon's left."I think it's plain to see that the boy bears a grudge against your
family."

Hawk
frowned.The man had pale hair, with a
purplish cast to it that reminded Hawk of wine stains, and pale hazel
eyes.There was a quality to his voice
that urged one to agree with him; glancing around, Hawk could see its affect on
the others at the table.The man's arrogance
and cruelty were palpable.

"My
name is Lord Spyrling."The man
smiled."I am King John's trusted
emissary, and speak with his authority."

"I
see," said Hawk."I was
unaware that His Majesty had authority over matters pertaining to the
university.And should not the
university's magister scolarum be present?"

"He
fled from Oxford last night," Lord Konstantine said.

Hawk
didn't flinch.He'd expected that the man
had either fled or been imprisoned."Then I believe that this case would be more properly heard by a
tribunal appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, wouldn't it?The university is under His Eminence's
jurisdiction."

"The
Archbishop is forbidden to act under the edict from His Holiness, the
Pope," Spyrling said."Therefore, by default, it becomes the King's matter within the
laws established in the 1164 Constitutions of Clarendon."

Hawk
kept his voice steady."The Church
denied the Constitutions of Clarendon, so I respectfully submit that they
aren't applicable to this situation."

"Perhaps
you'd like to resurrect the Archbishop Thomas Becket to hear your
plea."

Startled,
Hawk looked at the woman at the end of the table. She smiled at him and uneasy
laughter rippled down the table.

Hawk
bowed to her."I would be happy to
do so if given the opportunity."

The
smile disappeared and her cold eyes sparked."Blasphemer!"

Hawk
clenched his jaw.They hadn't had a
chance in hell even before they'd entered the room, so a little matter of
blasphemy hardly concerned him at the moment.

"You
have quite the command of life and death, don't you?" Spyrling said."It doesn't matter, however, since my
word is the only law here."He sat
back in his chair and smirked."The
King himself commanded your deaths.The
only question before this tribunal is how they are to be carried out."

"Bloody
politics," Symon muttered to Hawk.

"We've
committed no crime.Are there any
witnesses against us?" Hawk demanded.

Spyrling
smiled, his eyes glinting with amusement."Why yes, there is one."

There
was movement within the darkness at the far side of the room, and then
Nicholaus stepped forward, smirking unpleasantly.He fell to a knee before Richemon.

"My
lord."

"You
bear witness against these men?" rumbled Richemon.

"Not
as such, my lord," Nicholaus said."I bear witness as to the nature of a creature that they harbour
under their roof."

Hawk
could feel Symon grow tense.

"And
what is the manner of that creature?" Spyrling asked.

"The
creature is a demon, my lord."

Hands
fluttered around the table, making the sign against evil.

"Bullshit!"
Symon said."That man is your
murderer."A soldier hit him with
the shaft of his spear, and Symon fell to his knees.

"Silence!"Richemon glared at Symon."If you speak again without my leave,
you will be punished."He turned to
Nicholaus."A demon, you say?And how would you know that?"

"Because
he was under my holy supervision.The
story is a long one, my lord."

"Get
on with it."

Nicholaus
stood, graceful as a rearing snake.

"Last
winter I set out to London to celebrate the festival
of Candlemas with my brethren at St Giles Cripplegate."Nicholaus dipped his head."I do this every year, my lord, to give
thanks to the patron saint who watches over my poor, crippled mother.This year I expressed interest in the lazar
house, and was generously given leave to visit the afflicted souls who lived
there.

"One
such soul was an old gypsy woman.She so
old that one would find it impossible to guess at her age, though she claimed
to have lived for one hundred and fifteen years.She was hideous, her face half-eaten by the
foul corruption of her diseased soul, but her pleas to speak with me were so
pitiful that I could not turn away.

"My
lord, she told me that she was a witch."

The
abbot erupted into prayer while the rest of the table remained silent.But not shocked, Hawk noticed.This wasn't news to them.

Symon
stumbled to his feet, glaring at Nicholaus.

"Pray
my good man, confirm that she was disposed of in accordance with the Church's
teachings," the abbot said, making the sign of the cross.

"She
was," Nicholaus said."But
before I sent her to be purified at the stake, I heard her confession.Her tale was hard to believe, and I admit to
thinking at first that perhaps she was merely mad and not possessed by
Satan.

"She
said when she was young, her father had brought a demon into the gypsy tribe, a
demon in the guise of a boy.The demon
had great claws and teeth, but she said her father managed to tame the
beast.Once tamed, he became a boy,
eager to please and a strong and tireless worker.Bound by magic, the boy lived with the tribe
for several years.

"Bloody
gypsies," Richemon muttered."They're in league with the Devil.I want any that approach my lands to be slaughtered."

"My
lord," Nicholaus said, bowing his head."The woman told me that upon her fifteenth birthday, the demon
emerged.He ran amuck, slaying everyone,
until she, as the sole survivor of his rampage, once again was able to bind
him.

"A
few days later, she lured the boy onto holy ground and sealed him in the crypt
beneath St Giles."

"A
fantastic story."

"My
thoughts exactly, my lord.I didn't
believe her, so I went to the crypts myself to prove her wrong.

"I
found a boy there, in the darkness."

Hands
flew again in a fresh flurry of warding signs.

"I
asked the boy if he was a devil.He
replied vaguely, so I prayed to the Blessed Virgin for guidance.To my humble amazement, she appeared before
me."

"Bullshit,"
Symon said under his breath, his eyes narrowed.

Hawk
looked at him speculatively.Strange,
but it had seemed like Symon's whisper had contained certain knowledge, not
outraged scepticism.

"She
told me that the boy was to atone for his many sins and that, through that
atonement, the demon within him might be driven from his body," Nicholaus
continued."She bade me release him
from his imprisonment and to help him atone until I received a sign as to who
would ultimately be the boy's master."

"What
the hell?" Symon said.A soldier
backhanded him.

"The
next time either of you speak, I'll have your tongue," Richemon said.

Hawk's
mind raced.What was Nicholaus trying to
do?The man was a master
manipulator.Did he think that there was
some way to profit from Guy?

Nicholaus
bowed his head."Not while the
demon remained with me, my lord.But I
have prayed deeply since then, and the Virgin has responded."

The
abbot crossed himself."And what
did she say, man?"

"She
told me that under my guidance the boy might yet be able to atone for his
sins.A man of great power will soon
reveal himself to be my master and thus the demon's as well."

Spyrling
placed his chin on interlocked fingers."Intriguing.The Blessed
Virgin's blessings will be on that man?"

"Without
a doubt," Nicholaus said."But
while the Blessed Virgin gives me the power to control the monster, it hasn't
been mastered yet.The boy rejected the
atonement rituals.He escaped from my
care and was taken in by these men."Nicholaus gestured to Hawk and Symon with false piety on his face.

"If
they harbour an unmastered demon, by extension it's logical to conclude that
they are cohorts with the Devil," Spyrling said.

"Guy
is not a demon!" Hawk protested.

"He's
a fucking brat, not a devil!" Symon snapped at the same moment.

"Enough!"
Richemon roared."There is no doubt
that you harboured this demon in your home, unhindered by the prayers of the
pious or the blessings of the Virgin and therefore dangerous.My beloved wife fell prey to you and to that
creature!"He glared at them, his
chest heaving with anger."Neither
of you will have a swift death.You'll
be hanged on the short drop.Take them
back to the cell!Sentence will be
carried out at dawn."

Hawk's
stomach twisted and he closed his eyes.The short drop.A long, slow
strangulation instead of the mercy of a snapped neck.

"Hang
me and be damned!" Symon said.

Lord
Konstantine stood."This matter
appears to be completed," he said, bowing to his father and Spyrling and
nodding his head to the abbot."If
you'll excuse me."As he turned to
leave, he looked directly at Hawk.

A
soldier grabbed Hawk's shoulder and thrust him towards the door."Get goin', you bloody bastard.I'm lookin' for'ard to pissin' on your
corpse."

Hawk
heard a blow and Symon's grunt, then stumbling steps following behind him as
Symon was herded back to the cell, too.

After
they'd been shackled to the wall again, Hawk waited a few moments, until the
guards had locked them in the cell.

"That
went well."

"That
must have been the bitch who's sleeping with Nicholaus and Richemon,"
Symon said. "Her eyes never left that crow the entire time he spoke, like
she was pleased with how a pet dog might perform."

"I
don't think that we can underestimate Nicholaus, even if she regards him as an
amusement," Hawk said."Do you
think that they'll keep Guy alive?"

Hawk
felt Symon strain at his bonds."It
sounded like it.Damn that fucker!"

"Would
you be talking about me, by any chance?"Their cell door opened and Nicholaus entered.He leaned against the wall next to the door
and smirked."What a rude thing to
say about someone who has been kind enough to sent the guards away so that he
could hear your confessions and offer you the last rites."

"You
bastard."Hawk had never heard
Symon's voice sound so dark and deadly."I'll fucking kill you if you touch Guy again."

"Given
the verdict, I have my doubts."

"What
verdict?It's just the stupidity of a
fucking king who hates a fucking archbishop and a creepy, manipulative bastard
with an oily voice who's looking for power."

"Hmm."Tilting his head, Nicholaus seemed to be
weighing Symon's words."Perhaps
you're right.If I recall, you once
challenged one of our lecturers with your theory that demons live within all of
us."He smiled."I've never seen a reason to argue with
that, actually.Too bad no one else sees
it that way."

"What
do you intend to do with Guy?" Hawk asked quietly.

"Consolidate
power, of course."Nicholaus
straightened and began to walk around the cell with a self-satisfied air."With a pet demon to take care of my
enemies and my dearest Sybil to entice secrets from my allies, I imagine that I
should be at the King's side by the end of the year."

"You
murdered Lady Richemon to get that bitch into the castle, didn't you?" The
contempt in Symon's voice could have frozen Hell, Hawk thought.

"Sybil
has a talent for ingratiating herself with those in power," Nicholaus said
reflectively."It's simply hard to
use that talent when you live in a town the size of Oxford.London will suit us far
better."He strolled back to the
door."It's been lovely talking to
you, but I think it's time for me to take my leave.Oh!" he said, false solicitation written
all over his face."Unless you'd
like to be shriven, of course?No?Then I really must be going.I have a date with a very sweet boy."

"You
fucking bastard!"Symon struggled
so hard that Hawk was afraid that he'd dislocate a shoulder.

"Surely
that's between the demon and me, don't you think?"Nicholaus closed the door behind him."Oh, and in case you're still hoping to
be rescued, I should tell you that the red-haired soldier is likely providing a
nice meal for the town's crows by now.You'll be joining him soon enough.As will the young lord."

Gervase.Hawk closed his eyes as Nicholaus shouted for the
soldiers to return to guarding the prisoners.

"So
now he's after Konstantine," Symon said."He'll have to be careful with that murder.He's running out of university people to pin
it on."He struggled more."Fuck.We've got to get out of this."

"Er,"
Hawk said, confused, "yesterday you seemed to be a bit more resigned to
our fate.Has something changed?"

"I
thought they'd be killing Guy, too," Symon said."Damn it!Look, can you find some slack in these
ropes?"

"I'll
try."Hawk let his fingers wander
over Symon's bound wrists."So it
was fine if we died along with Guy, but now that Guy isn't dying, we can't,
either.Would that be about right?"

"Shut
up, you bastard."

A
bit of the rope actually seemed as if it were loosening as Hawk worked on
it."If I had said the same thing
about Gervase, I doubt you'd be quite so understanding."

Hawk
tugged, and the ropes fell from Symon's hands."My point is, we could have done this yesterday," he said, keeping
his voice reasonable as Symon began to work on his bonds."And I don't see that the situations are
all that different, personally."

"They
are, so drop it.There."

Hawk
felt the ropes around his wrists loosen and Symon pull them off.

"Now
what?" Hawk asked as he rubbed his wrists to get the blood circulating.

"We
wait.When they come to get us, we jump
the bastards and then go find Guy."

"Ah."Hawk paused."I admire the simplicity of the plan, of course, but I think you've
left out a few details concerning its execution."

"Take
it or leave it."Symon settled back
more comfortably against the wall, hiding the ropes and his hands behind his
back."The bastards could have left
us some water."

"I
imagine that they want us to suffer," Hawk replied mildly.

Symon
flashed him a sour look."It might
have been better to have been locked up with the fucking mercenary."

Hawk
smiled sweetly and settled back to wait."Perhaps I'll spend my time trying to flesh out your plan a
bit.So it's effective, you understand,
not because it's lacking in any way."

"Bastard."

Hawk
closed his eyes, a smile still playing over his lips.The banter felt normal; his spirits lightened
and a measure of optimism returned.Perhaps they would yet get out of this mess.And if they didn't, at least the possibility
now existed that he'd die without his hands tied behind his back, which was a
definite improvement over the alternative…

A
sharp jab to the ribs woke him up.

"Get
ready.I hear some activity out
there."

Hawk
shook his head."I'm sorry.How long was I asleep?"

"A
few hours."Symon watched the door
intently.

"Oh."The blow to the head must still be affecting
him.

"You
got that plan worked out?"

"Er…
When they come to get us, we jump them and then go find Guy?"

"Brilliant."

There
was a noise directly outside their cell door, a sort of thud and some
rustling.Hawk leaned forward, muscles
tense, holding his breath, his hands behind his back to keep the illusion of
being tied until the last moment.

"Hawk?"

There
was a sharp bark.

Hawk
blinked.He and Symon exchanged glances.

"Hawk?You in there?"

"Gervase!"

"Thank
fuck!"There was the sound of keys
rattling and the door swung open.Chien
bounded in and began to lick Hawk's face.

"About
fucking time, you moron."Symon
rattled the shackles."Find the
damned key for these, would you?"

"I
hear and obey, Lord Prick," Gervase said, but he unlocked Hawk first and
pulled Chien off of him while Symon cursed.Gervase had a bundle slung over his shoulder and his sword hung at his
hip.Hawk wondered if this was how he'd
looked as a soldier, and was unprepared for the heat that flowed through him at
the thought.

"Where's
Guy?"Symon pushed past Gervase as
soon as his shackles were released.He
opened the door a bit further and cautiously looked up and down the hallway.

"Don't
know." Gervase slapped Hawk on the shoulder."Come on, lazy."

Hawk
got up and followed Gervase to the door."Nicholaus said you were dead."

"Yeah,
well, the bastard was wrong about that," Gervase said."Not for want of tryin', though."

"How'd
you get in?"

"Not
now."Gervase drew his sword."It looks like they had the kid in a
cell just down the hall for a while, but he's gone now."He took the bundle from his shoulder and
unrolled it."Here.Put these on."

Hawk
slipped back into the cell and brought out some of the rope so that Symon could
tie his robes up.

Knotting
the rope, Symon froze."Did you
hear that?"

Shouts
and the sound of clashing swords came from down the corridor.Symon bolted towards the sounds, Hawk,
Gervase and Chien at his heels.Twists
and turns made the sounds grow and fade, until suddenly they rounded a corner
and slid to a halt.

Hawk
tried to take in the situation, but the room was in a chaos: men fighting and
furniture scattered around, overturned benches and a table, a three-legged
cauldron rolling on its side, pottage spilled on the floor around it, several
still bodies scattered across the floor.He saw Denys in the far doorway, face blood-covered and grim, fighting
several soldiers at once.

Chien
dashed across the room and disappeared past Denys.

"Chien!"

"Grab
a sword!" Gervase shouted.Then he
was wading into the battle, his sword flashing bright and deadly.Blood sprayed as he sliced through one man's
shoulder and deep into the man's chest, lodging the sword in bone and yanking it
back out through brute force as the man screamed and fell to the floor,
obviously dying.But even as the man
fell, Gervase was slashing, parrying, and thrusting, making his way to Denys's
side.

Hawk
looked around and saw a rack of weapons against the wall.Dragging Symon with him, he ran towards
it.A man staggered into his path; Hawk
elbowed him in the throat and rushed by, getting to the weapons just as two
more men came at him and Symon.

"Here!"He threw a sword at Symon, grabbed one for
himself, and just managed to bring his blade up quickly enough to parry what
would have been a killing blow.He
pushed the soldier's blade up and away and spun as Gervase had taught him,
catching the soldier under the left arm with his upswing and driving in deep.The man screamed and fell, wrenching the
sword out of Hawk's hands, so he grabbed another one from the rack and attacked
the man who had Symon pinned to the ground, stabbing him in the back.He rolled the body off Symon and looked
around, panting.

"Didn't
know you could do that," Symon said, getting to his feet and raising his
sword.

Bodies
were strewn across the room, the screams and moans enough to make Hawk's stomach
turn.Only one small knot of men
remained, all of them focused on Denys and Gervase.One man towards the back glanced over his
shoulder at the door behind Hawk and Symon, then whirled and made a dash for
it.

"Don't
let him get away!" Denys roared.Hawk leapt into the man's path but stumbled as the first soldier he'd
fought grabbed his leg.Crashing to the
ground, he glimpsed Symon intercepting the man and heard the ring of steel as
Symon engaged.Then Hawk was kicking
madly at the dagger in the fallen soldier's hand; the man was slashing at his
ankles, clearly intending to sever his Achilles tendon.He managed to bring down the pommel of his
sword on the man's hand.With a cry, the
man released the dagger and Hawk caught it up, plunging it into the man's
chest.He rolled away and climbed to his
feet, to find Symon standing over the body of the man who had tried to escape,
blood splattered across his face.

"Don't
look so surprised, asshole," Symon said.

"Ah
haha!It's just that I often forget that
you're a noble's son," Hawk replied.

Symon
glared at him."Fuck off."

There
was a choked-off scream, and then suddenly the sounds of fighting fell
silent.Hawk looked for Gervase and saw
him supporting Denys.

Symon
seemed to know which twists and turns to take, though Hawk was sure that he'd
never been in OxfordCastle before.He plunged forward without hesitation,
running so fast that Hawk and Gervase had a difficult time keeping him in
sight.Then he disappeared around a
corner of the corridor and Hawk heard a sharp cry and laughter.

Rounding
the corner, Hawk saw Symon poised in a doorway, his face pale and grim.They ran up to him and looked inside the
torch-lit room.

The
room was large; it housed racks of huge barrels along one wall and the
unmistakable smell of sour ale and burning pitch permeated the air.The three people inside paused, looking
towards them.

Nicholaus
laughed."Monastic robes!That's rich!"He stepped back as if inviting them inside,
manoeuvring so that he had a wall at his back and plenty of room to move, Hawk
noted.

Beyond
him, Lord Konstantine was pressed tight against the far wall.He held his left arm crooked against his
body, blood staining the tattered sleeve; he held a sword in his right hand,
angled towards Guy, who stood over him threateningly.Chien crouched in front of him, growling at
Guy.

Guy
seemed to disappear and reappear directly in front of Gervase.Hawk gasped as Gervase suddenly flew through the
air and hit the stone hard wall, sliding down to the floor, unconscious.

"No!"
Hawk shouted.He sprang forward, dimly
aware of Nicholaus's laughter and Symon's shouted, "Don't—!" and then
Hawk was face to face with Guy.

But
it couldn't be Guy.This creature
radiated menace and power.Pointed ears
emerged gracefully from long, wild hair like a hind's antlers, and talons sharp
as daggers and sticky with drying blood belied delicate-seeming fingers.Hawk stared into its slit-pupil eyes and saw
death staring back at him.He froze as
the creature smiled.

Though
he didn't see it move, Hawk reeled backwards, pain exploding through his
head.He staggered, then his feet
slipped and he fell.Before he could
draw a breath the creature was on his chest, a wide-stretched grin exposing
great fangs, its talons raised and pointed at his face.He wondered if it would hurt when the
creature ripped out his throat, or if his mind would simply shut down, unable
to deal with the horror of a violent death at a demon's claws and teeth.

"Stop
it, you fucking monkey!" Symon bellowed.

The
creature paused and looked at Symon.Hawk watched as the deadly grin changed into a lascivious smile and held
his breath.

"Not
wise to draw attention to yourself," Nicholaus murmured."You should at least try to run
away."He leaned against the wall
and crossed his arms, smirking.

Hawk
watched, heart pounding, as the creature and Symon stared at one another.

"Get
off him," Symon said.The creature
tilted its head and licked its lips, not taking its eyes from Symon.It slowly straightened and stepped off Hawk's
chest.

"Don't
move," Konstantine said.He grabbed
Chien's collar.

As
the creature crept closer to Symon, Hawk released his pent-up breath and slowly
felt around for his sword.His hand
encountered a fine chain instead.

The
necklace.

Moving
slowly so as not to break the creature's concentration, Hawk propped himself on
one elbow and pulled the necklace to him.The tiny coin caught his attention.It was made of copper and stamped with a king's insignia.Hawk looked at it closely and frowned.

Chien
barked and Hawk looked up to see Nicholaus pull a dagger from his belt.

"Symon,
look out!"

Symon
broke eye contact with the creature.For
an instant, everyone in the room was frozen in place.Then Nicholaus cursed and threw the
dagger.It flashed through the air
towards Symon's chest.

The
creature exploded into action, roaring as it leapt at Nicholaus.Nicholaus screamed and went down under its
onslaught.

The
dagger buried itself in the doorframe where Symon had been standing a moment
earlier.

Hawk
sprang to his feet and raced to Symon's side.He thrust the necklace at him."Symon!"

Symon
looked at the necklace and then snatched it from Hawk's hand.Before Hawk could stop him, he ran to the
creature and grabbed its shoulder, yanking it away from Nicholaus's bloody body
until it was facing him.

"You'll
be fine," Hawk said, helping Gervase to his feet and avoiding the question
in his eyes."We have to
leave.Quickly."

Konstantine
knelt at Nicholaus's side. "He's
alive."

"Leave
him," Symon said, picking up Guy."Let's get going."

Their
escape through the castle was ridiculously easy.They met no soldiers, no servants, not even
any of the upper class residents of the castle.Once outside, Denys led them to a wagon hitched to two oxen and helped
them in, then climbed up on the seat and took the reins.

"What're
you doin'?" Gervase asked with a frown.

"We're
going to escort you to the inn at the crossroad to Cambridge," Konstantine
said."I've had my men take your
horses and carriage there to meet us."

"Why
are you helping us?" Hawk asked.

"You
told the truth," he said quietly."It was more than my honour was worth to allow you to be executed
for my mother's death if you were innocent.When Denys came across Gervase in the castle, we decided to help him in
his rescue efforts."

"But
what about your mother's murder?"

"If
Nicholaus is still alive and hasn't escaped by the time I get back, I'll put
him on trial."

"What
about your father?"Symon demanded.He held Guy close.

"He's
dead.The bitch he'd been sleeping with
killed him.My men found her with the
knife in her hand," Konstantine said."She'll end on the gallows beside Nicholaus."

The
city burned below them.Hawk could hear
the roar of the flames and watched, horrified, as the wind eddied in fiery swirls,
leaping from one house to the next.It
looked as if the entire area of the city where the university had once been
housed was aflame.

The
wagon jerked into motion.Konstantine
mounted his horse without a word and fell in behind them.

The
horizon glowed until the flaming city was finally hidden amongst the hills and
the stars.

Part Eight:Of Journeys

At
dawn, Lord Konstantine and Denys dropped them off at an inn on a crossroads,
where their carriage and horses were waiting.Denys gently moved Guy from the wagon to the carriage.Symon made sure that Guy was wrapped in
blankets and made as comfortable as possible.

Guy
never stirred.Symon was impatient to
get going while he still slept.

"One
of my men will drive the carriage," Konstantine said."He can bring it back once you've
reached your destination."

The
last thing that Symon wanted was to be beholden to Konstantine."Thank you," he said through
clenched teeth.

"You're
welcome," Konstantine replied, a small smile on his lips."I must return to the castle.Perhaps we'll meet again some day."

"In
Hell," Symon muttered as he watched Konstantine and his men ride off.

Hawk
led his and Symon's horses to the carriage and tied Symon's palfrey to the
back."Gervase will get our horses
saddled, then we can be off," he said."Why don't you ride in the carriage with Guy and Chien?"

Symon
grunted.

Gervase
came out of the stables carrying a bridle and saddle, leading the charger he'd
brought back with him from the Crusades.The warhorse was already tacked up.Gervase wrapped the reins around the carriage's door handle and started
to saddle Hawk's palfrey.

"I
overheard someone talkin'," Gervase said quietly as he worked."They say that three students were
hanged in Oxford last night, a couple of hours before
dawn."

Hawk
looked stricken."Do you think that
they hanged three other students?"

Symon
shook his head."Who knows?It could just be rumours about us.A messenger would have had to ridden hard to
have brought the news of new hangings.We made good time last night."

Hawk
nodded, though he didn't look convinced.

"They
also said that there isn't a student left in Oxford," Gervase
continued.He tightened the girth with a
grunt, then elbowed the palfrey so it would blow out.He yanked the girth tighter and tried the
saddle."Looks good.She's ready for you, Hawk.Sure you want to ride after you got hit in
the head?"

"I'll
be more comfortable riding my horse than trying to sleep in the
carriage."Hawk looked towards the
inn."Perhaps if I mingled a
bit—"

Symon
sighed."Fuck.Fine.See what you can hear, but we leave before the sun clears the
horizon."

Hawk
nodded and hurried towards the inn.

Symon
climbed into the carriage, Chien at his heels.The dog curled up on the floor under the bench on which Guy was sleeping
while Symon arranged blankets and bundles of clothes on the opposite bench for
himself.The benches were deep, with
plenty of storage beneath even with all of Hawk's bundled manuscripts stowed
under them.Symon was glad – carriage
rides were notoriously rough, little more than a covered cart, and the more
room there was too move, the easier the long ride would be on him and Guy.

He'd
just finished padding his bench when he heard a knock on the window frame.He stuck his head out and Hawk passed him a
pot and a loaf of bread.

"There's
stew in the pot," Hawk said."Could you please hold this mug for me a moment?"

Symon
took the mug and watched as Hawk mounted his palfrey."Where did you get the money to pay for
all of this?"

"Oh,
it's Gervase's."Hawk said as
Gervase mounted up.He took the mug back
and blew softly on it to cool the contents."You can start, driver."

Symon
cursed as he nearly hit his head when the carriage lurched into motion."You don't get that kind of money
hustling peasants at knucklebones."

Gervase
smirked."Why not?I'm damned good at dice and knucklebones,
asshole."

"Oh
dear," Hawk said, frowning at the mug."The inns-keeper's wife said this would make my head feel
better."

Symon
snorted."Your funeral.Now, where did the fucking money come
from?"

"From
the sack of Constantinople," Hawk said.He sipped and made a face.

Gervase
pulled hard on his reins; his charger shied to the side."What the fuck?You weren't supposed to know that!How the fuck did you find out?"

Hawk
smiled innocently as Gervase fell back in beside him; he poured the contents of
the mug onto the road."Did you
think I was a fool?Money kept appearing
in the jar or in my purse, and it wasn't all pennies.Really, Gervase, marks?Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"You
never said anything!"

"Well,
how could I?It would mean admitting
that I was a kept man.Besides, I needed
it.If you were going to give it to me,
I thought I might as well save you the embarrassment of having to make up
stories about it.It was easier all
around for me to just not notice it."

"What
would you have done if I'd have run out?"

Hawk
blinked, a blank look on his face."I hadn't thought of that, actually.Why would you give it to me if you didn't
have quite a bit to begin with?And we
live frugally.For the most
part."

Symon
frowned."So does that mean the
house was Gervase's, too?"

"Oh
no, that's – that was - mine."Hawk smiled ruefully."I
suppose I shouldn't be too heartbroken over leaving, since I won it."

"You
won a house."

"You
shoudda seen him," Gervase said, grinning."It was just after I met him, when he first came to Oxford.I was pissin' my pants wonderin' how I was
gonna get him out of the tavern alive without spendin' all of my money to keep
his neck out of a noose.Roughest group
of blacksmiths I've ever seen."

"The
one who owned the house was a fool and a cheat," Hawk retorted."They all hated him."

"They
were guild members!"

"They
were competitors."Hawk looked
demure."Besides, I happened to
know that the former owner of my house was sleeping with the wife of one of the
city council members, who just happened to also be one of the founding member
of the Oxford Blacksmiths Guild."

"Since
the dice were destroyed during the melee afterwards, we'll never know, will
we?"

"An'
that's why it's been so damned cheap boardin' our horses with the
bastard," Gervase muttered."All this time, you could have been earnin' an honest keep
swindlin' merchants.Instead, you've
been livin' off me."

"I
never asked for the money you gave me," Hawk pointed out reasonably.

"No,
you didn't," Gervase admitted."Damned manuscripts.I've
spent more money on 'em than I ever spent on wine or women."

"What
happened last night?"Gervase
shivered."I could have sworn that
Guy's ears were pointed."

Symon
remembered Guy's slit-pupil eyes, the deadly amusement in their depths.The talons on Guy's fingers had been black
with blood."You've got an active
imagination, asshole.It was just the
kid.Afraid of shadows?"

"I
took a look at the coin on Guy's necklace last night," Hawk said."It was a ha'penny, like the ones you
sometimes find in London, from the royal
treasury."

Symon
snorted."Vanity coins," he
said dismissively."Kings have them
made with their portraits, then the next one melts them down and makes new ones
with his face on them."

"That's
just it," Hawk said."It
wasn't King John's portrait, or even King Richard's.It was Henry I."

Shit.Symon stayed silent.

"But
that was a hundred years ago," Gervase said."Where would he get a coin from back
then?"

Hawk
shook his head."Nothing from
before the Anarchy exists anymore.I've
never seen Henry I coins, not even in cathedral collections."He paused."Nicholaus said that the gypsy told him that Guy had been sealed
for a hundred years."

"What?"Gervase reined in closer."What gypsy?"

"A
figment of his fucking imagination," Symon said.

"Nicholaus
said he met a gypsy, an old woman, who was dying.She begged him to release a demon held in the
crypt of St Giles in London," Hawk said, frowning
at Symon.

"And
Nicholaus tells lies."Symon kept
his voice disgusted in order to hide his concern.They needed to keep Guy's secret, and Gervase
was notorious for talking while drunk."I don't believe in fairy tales and magic."

"What
are miracles, if not magic?" demanded Hawk.

"No!You're not going off on some fuckin'
philosophical tangent and leavin' a story this good behind," Gervase
said."Let's hear the rest of
it."

"Shut
up," Symon said."There is no
'rest of it'.You've already heard it
before from the kid."

"Huh.Should be more to it.Maybe a hot Saxon wench – er, maybe
not," Gervase amended after looking at Hawk."Makes a damned good story,
though.Travelin' with a demon oughta
buy me a few rounds at the next inn."

"You're
not talking about it to strangers!"

"Why
the hell not?"

"Because,"
Hawk said quietly, "when people fear something or someone, it never ends
well."

"So
I don't tell 'em it's the kid—" Gervase argued.

"Tch.I'll fucking kill you if you tell anyone,
asshole."Symon sat back and pulled
the curtains shut against the dust coming from the road.He heard Gervase continuing his argument with
Hawk, their voices growing fainter as they allowed their horses to pull away
from the carriage.His worry had
diminished greatly, though.Hawk
understood the need for secrecy and would keep Gervase in line.Konstantine – no, Lord Richemon, now that his
father was dead – and Denys wouldn't talk, and they'd make sure that the abbot
and Spyrling didn't, either.With Guy
far away from Oxford, the local story would
take on the air of legend, and should never be associated with the young squire
that Symon was determined to make of Guy.

He
turned in his seat and came face to face with a pair of golden eyes.

"Is
it over?"

Symon
nodded."Do you remember
anything?"

Guy
shook his head."Did I hurt
anyone?"

"No
one important.We're safe.We should reach the estate sometime late
tomorrow."

Guy
squirmed until he was sitting up, still bundled in the blankets."Symon?"

Symon
grunted.Guy was so fucking beautiful
like this, soft-eyed and sleepy, trust radiating from every pore, whether Symon
deserved it or not.

"Fuck
me.Please?"

"What?"

"Please?I wanna feel good.Really good.Please?"

"There
are other ways to feel good, Guy."Symon ran a hand through his hair and steeled his will as visions of Guy's
face twisted in ecstasy ran through his mind.

Glaring
at Chien, Symon yanked some braies out of what looked like Gervase's bundle and
tore off a strip of cloth.Since the dog
didn't seem inclined to do anything other than watch, Symon finally turned away
and instead scowled at the jar of ointment, finally dipping a finger in and
scooping up some of the balm."Fucking mess," he muttered.

He
bent over Guy's back and gently pressed his finger against Guy's hole.

"It's
okay.You can push harder."

Symon
grunted and pressed a bit harder.The
pucker yielded and his finger slid to the first knuckle in at the same moment
as Guy gasped.Symon froze.

"More.Please, Symon.Feels so good…"

God,
it was fucking tight.And hot.Symon pressed in further, his disgust
forgotten as he watched his finger disappear into Guy's body.He shivered at the thought of sticking his
prick in there.It would never fit, but
if it did… He shivered again.

So
fucking hot and tight.

"Move
it around," Guy said.

Symon
explored the depths of Guy's body, fascinated as he followed Guy's directions,
feeling how Guy's body responded to two fingers, then three, until Guy was
whimpering and Symon's prick felt like it would explode.Breathing hard, he gingerly slathered
ointment over his cock and gave a quick tug to his bollocks, afraid he'd come
before he even got inside Guy's arse.

He
knelt over Guy and pulled the brat's arse up until Guy was half-crouched, his
knees spread around Symon's legs and his face buried in the blanket to muffle
any noise he might make.Symon held his
prick tightly as he pressed forward and the head breached Guy's hole.

"Holy
fucking shit.Guy!" he gasped.Guy's tight heat seemed to pull him in and he
sank forward until his hips were pressed into Guy's arse.He leaned his forehead against Guy's back.

"Symon,"
Guy sighed.He wriggled a bit."You c'n move."

For
a moment, Symon thought that Guy meant that he should withdraw, but Guy pressed
his arse back against Symon's groin and Symon was lost.He began to fuck Guy with long, slow strokes,
trying to balance against the carriage's jolting as they travelled the rough
road.Gaining confidence, he gradually
picked up the pace, until he was sliding smoothly in and out of Guy's arse, his
prick encased by hot, grasping muscles.

Symon
could feel a slight bump pressing against the head of his prick where it was
sunk deep into Guy's tight channel.He
withdrew a bit and snapped his hips forward, hitting the bump and making Guy
grunt and moan.With a wicked smile,
Symon set out to batter the spot with his prick as Guy's moans turned into a
constant whine of pleasure.

Guy
reached back and began to jerk his cock."'M gonna come, Symon," he gasped."Don't stop!"

Symon
could feel his own orgasm building as he redoubled his efforts, pounding his
prick into Guy's heat.Suddenly, the
muscles in Guy's arse began to clutch his prick in hard spasms and he cried
out.Symon could smell Guy's come; he
snapped his hips forward and felt his orgasm rush through him like wildfire,
the soles of his feet burning and the flames spreading up into his gut before
they centred in his bollocks and exploded out his cock.He couldn't stop his hips from driving
forward with each burst of come, emptying himself deep inside of Guy.

Even
after he had nothing left to give, his hips kept moving until his prick
softened and he slipped out of Guy's arse, collapsing on top of him and gasping
for breath as if he'd just run all the way from Oxford.

Dimly,
he was aware of Guy slipping out from under him and using the strip of cloth to
clean them.Then Guy pressed against him
and pulled a blanket over them both.Symon melted into the warmth of Guy's body, the smell of their coupling
surrounding him and the slowly cooling wet spot sticking to his leg.

He
vaguely wondered why he didn't mind the mess all that much now.

"Hey,
Symon?"

"Hmm?"

"Can
I have white bread at your house?"

"Hmm."

"Good…
Symon?"

"What?"

"I'm
hungry."

"Eat
the blanket."

"I
can't."

"Then
you aren't really hungry, are you?"

"…
Yeah.I am.Really hungry."

"Shut
up."Symon pulled Guy closer and closed
his eyes, breathing in Guy's scent.Whether a voice from the devil or a voice from God, he'd been led to
this fucking beautiful, immensely annoying brat.

Hawk
would say their fates were bound together.

Well,
fuck fate.

Symon
fell asleep with his head pillowed on Guy's chest, the sound of Guy's heart
whispering to him.

fin

Part
Nine:Of Appetizers and Afters [a.k.a.
Notes]

Requested
Pairing/Prompt:Sanzo x Goku.Oh! I'd love to see something in a medieval
setting.No character death or non-con,
it really squicks me.

This
story was based on the following excerpt from Roger of Wendover's Flores
Historiarum:

roughly
translated:…
At the same time there was a student who, contrary to the teachings of Oxford, by intent or accident
killed a townswoman and fled the dead body for fear of being caught.When the city leaders discovered the woman's
lifeless body, they began to search for the murderer, who hid in the
university.The townsfolk held a
tribunal and found the student guilty.The townsfolk arrested three students for the murder and imprisoned
them, though the students protested that they were innocent.The king, in accordance with his enmity with
the Church, gave his permission for the students to be hanged.The townspeople, being angry at the freedoms
and privileges enjoyed by the university, hanged the three prisoners.The university disbanded and closed its
doors, and all three thousand scholars fled the farms and estates of Oxford.